Of Samurai and Shinobi
by Kirikouchan
Summary: An indecisive young shinobi and an emotionally uncertain young samurai find themselves stumbling head first into what could be described as a rocky relationship at best. What happens when the two become dependant on one another for survival? SasuNaru, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This disclaimer applies for the entire fic as I don't feel like having to repeat the same thing every chapter. I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make money by writing this story. Naruto and all of it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto etc.

Well, I decided to re-re-write this thing after all. This fic was originally supposed to be a practice run, it's still the first fanfic I've ever written after all.

Summary: An indecisive young shinobi and an emotionally uncertain young samurai find themselves stumbling head first into what could be described as a rocky relationship at best. Throughout history shinobi and samurai have never been on the best of terms, what will happen to the two while dependent on one another? SasuNaru, AU.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Of beginnings and meetings"

It was a beautiful spring morning, regardless of the vast amounts puddles created by the seemingly endless falling rain. The warm and gentle sun radiated brightly enough to shine through the dark clouds. Several rainbows painted the skies with their beautiful colors, paling in comparison however to the fields of wild-flowers within the area. Their fragrance alone would be enough to light up ones day.

With the ground covered in puddles of freshly fallen rain, it caused the sun to sparkle all around. Small animals of sorts scurried around in order to find their first meal of the day. After such a harsh winter, this gentle spring seemed like a reward. What nature took in winter, it returned in spring after all.

Several animals looked up out of fright, vigilance was the key to survival after all. It went as fast as it came, a human form covered with a large cloak ran across the clearance within record time. The figure allowed itself to slow down upon nearing a hill, it had reached it's destination.

The figure crouched down and looked at the small village in just below him in the midst of a perfect green valley. The figure pulled down the cloth that hid most of it's face, revealing several odd markings on it's youthful face.

* * *

Naruto POV

And the hag had said that it would have taken him at least three weeks to get here, judging by his so-called clumsy nature. So far this mission had been one of the easiest he'd been on so far. He still couldn't believe this was ranked as an A-class assignment.

The young man watched the villagers go about their daily lives. No matter how innocent these people seemed however, they were by no means harmless. The sounds of steel hitting steel diverted his attention, a primitive but nonetheless admirable blacksmith was forcing an elongated piece of metal into it's desired shape by the use of a rather heavy looking mallet. The rather burly looking man seemed to work hard and diligently as he brought down the heavy object time and time again only to stop upon turning the battered steel around and repeating the process.

A little further up ahead a large group of women were busy planting something in the midst of a primitively cultivated area. Most of the women were wearing hats made out of straw, to protect them from the sun no doubt. The ones who were unfortunate enough to have misplaced theirs would probably get a nasty sunburn later on.

The young man sighed. Was everything about work to these people?

He had been sent here to spy on this secluded village due to a threat of war. Tsunade-baba wanted to be prepared for anything and believed that observing the enemy would be the easiest approach in this situation. He had refused to believe that a bunch of dress-wearing, sword waving lunatics were any kind of threat, hence why Tsunade decided that he would be 'perfect' for this assignment. He was obviously lacking in observational skills, or so she had said.

'Darned old hag. Making me do all the boring stuff while the others go out and face powerful opponents. Meanwhile I'm stuck sitting on my ass while watching a bunch of workaholics shuffle their asses around. I bet they don't even have ramen here…'

He silently fumed as he recalled the amused expression on Tsunade-baba's face. Somehow he doubted she'd like the 'present' he left behind for her back home. Let's see her expression then!

Not only would he get a good laugh out of it upon his return, he'd ace this mission and show her that his 'observational skills' were just fine. His original mission stated that he wasn't supposed to get any closer then this, he was meant to play it safe and hide in the shadows. There was no way he'd be lurking around freezing his ass of until either something interesting happened or it was time for him to go home. He'd go where none of his kind had ever gone before and in his backpack he carried just that which he needed to do so.

Feeling somewhat empowered by the thought of his 'welcome home present' and what was going to be the most daring stunt in history, he got up in search of a place to wash up. Normal travelers didn't smell this heavily of sweat after all, neither did they wear this specific kind of gear. He'd doubt that remaining dressed like their enemy would make him very popular.

Laughing a bit at his own joke, he proceeded in mapping out the area. Always important in case one needed a quick getaway. It didn't matter how primitive these people seemed, he was dealing with samurai after all.

* * *

Sasuke POV

It was safe to say that Uchiha Sasuke was not in the best of moods right now. Even though all the scowling wasn't doing much good to his usually handsome face, village girls all around still seemed to go out of their way to wish him a happy birthday.

It was just another damn morning in this damn village to him. Yet another day for the world to rub in his face that he was no match for his 'beloved' brother.

He'd no doubt be getting a scolding later on because of his rude and childish behavior. Not that he cared, it wasn't any different from usual after all. His parents – especially his father – seemed to take pleasure in reminding him of the 'simple facts in life'.

Valuable lessons like 'Your brother would never do a thing like that!' and 'It's alright not many can measure up to someone of your brother's status.'

For some reason they always succeeded in making him feel completely insignificant. His brother was the prize winning addition, he was the dead weight. One born lucky, the other lucky to be born. He was sick of it, sick of that feeling of not fitting in with the rest of the family. All he was there for was to ensure the preservation of his 'noble bloodline' while his older brother was allowed to leave this backwater place to do whatever the hell he wanted. In the mean time his parents hosted huge feasts in honor of his brother becoming yet another year older. Apparently there was no need for his parents to remember the fact that the son who was still around – unlike the other – grew older as well. Today was the day he turned 18, an important age for any young man. Yet this fact paled in comparison to his parent's devotion to their oldest son.

He would truly give anything to leave this place, just as his brother did several years ago. Even when he had been a child the idea of heading out into the vast world beyond the village borders seemed like life's greatest adventure. But clearly this was not meant to be. Once his father did finally remember that from this day on he was old enough to get married and start a family, he'd be stuck to the fist willing woman that came knocking. Which wouldn't take long, in fact he wouldn't be surprised if he'd meet the one he was to marry this very day…

His anger soon made place for depression. At least a marriage would mean he and his future wife would be getting out of that damned house. Or at least he hoped so.

His thoughts were interrupted as yet another blushing female approached him in order to congratulate him. He was _not_ in the mood to deal with this. Deciding it better to steer clear of the village for a while, he headed to-wards the one place he'd been visiting for nearly every day upon discovering it. This area was known for it's abundance in hot springs after all.

But this particular one he had stumbled upon as a child. It was a generally secluded area where he'd be able to get away for a while, a place where he could be alone to do whatever he wished. When his brother had announced his departure, he had rushed there and gazed upon the full moon. He had been eight years old at the time and full of dreams.

'Dreams. More like delusions.'

At the time he had wanted nothing more then to be noticed. He had thought that with his brother gone, maybe the adults would start noticing him. Oh how he had been wrong. When his brother had left, he had been kind enough to leave behind the tall-tale stories which seemed to grow more spectacular every day.

Deciding that his current track of thought were not exactly helping his foul mood go away, Sasuke climbed up a tree which overlooked the entire area in case of one of those ridiculous villagers – especially the women – stumbled upon this place by accident.

The sight that greeted him however, was not at all what he had been expecting…

* * *

Naruto POV

For some reason the mysterious young man couldn't shake the feeling of being watched while he finished undressing himself. It was probably all of the damned steam playing around with his mind. Being unable to properly keep watch of his direct environment automatically raised his hackles after all these years of being a shinobi.

The thick steam simply reminded him a lot about smoke-bombs like the ones often used by his kind. They served as brilliant distractions in order to get away, or could be used to disorientate ones opponent and sneak up on them in order to catch them unawares.

Shivering he shook of those kind of thoughts. They weren't exactly helping.

Refusing to give the matter any more attention, he discarded his underwear, completely unaware of the completely mortified tree-bound young man…

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Tee-hee

Chapter two XD

Enjoy the insanity of my horrible writing X3

Chapter 2

Of arguments and embarrassment

Sasuke POV-----------

Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes, he blinked once, then twice while gaping at the sight before him.

Right there was a blond haired, blue eyed young man stripping down. The blond walked over to the water and bend over slightly to discard whatever was left of his clothing.

Sasuke nearly fell from the tree he was currently perched in, after a sufficient amount of blinking and blinking once again for good measure he finally released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

He shouldn't be looking at the poor boy.

Said boy, who was obviously a foreigner on account of the light hair and strangely colored eyes,

would probably have a heart-attack if he knew there was a grown man, sitting in a tree gawking at him while he took a bath...

Yet Sasuke couldn't bring himself to move from his location, in fact, he could barely keep himself from drooling...

Naruto POV-----------

'There it is again! What is with me today? I've never been a person to get paranoid and I'm not about to start.' Deciding to get the idea of being watched out of his head, Naruto stood up and walked back to where he had discarded his clothes.

"I know you're out there! Show yourself!" Naruto chuckled slightly at his silliness,

he must've looked like a moron talking out loud like that...

? POV-----------

A strange colored creature entered the scene.

The small and bouncy non-suspecting animal was merely looking for a place to rest up out of the sun.

Little did it know what it's future role would be...

After hopping around for a bit, it landed on a strange type of grass.

Soft and unnatural...

Upon its exploration of the strange object, it found a small cave made of the strange 'soft grass'.

Innocent and ignorant in its actions, the creature decided this would be his napping place for the day...

Sasuke POV----------

Sasuke snapped out of his daze when the blond spoke.

'Damn, he noticed me? But how?'

His sense of honor getting the better of him, Sasuke slowly stood and gracefully jumped down from out of his hiding place.

He would explain his situation to the young foreigner and apologize, it was the least he could do.

Naruto POV----------

Naruto looked at the unfriendly looking young man, his dark hair and dark eyes only added to his dark aura.

Tsunade had always said that anger clouded his senses and that emotion should never get in the way of a mission.

He in return laughed and proceeded to boast about 'Never making such childish mistakes' and 'Always keeping his mind on the mission'.

Yet his previous conversation with the Hokage had left him agitated and angry, he silently scolded himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, especially in unfriendly territory...

'Well, no sense in moping around about that now...'

With incredible speed he reached into the pocket of his clothes, grabbing what he believed to be a weapon and launched it at the stranger's head.

Realization hit just a few seconds later as his brain caught up with his shinobi reflexes.

'Shurikens are not supposed to be orange and slimy...'

Sasuke POV---------

If it would have been a weapon Sasuke would have probably been killed.

That is, if it would have been a weapon...

An orange...thing was headed towards him with an amazing speed.

It his him right in the face...

Slid down said face leaving a slimy trail...

Fell down to the ground...

And hopped around frantically...

'A...frog...?'

Any thought of apologizing was quickly discarded.

"You absolute...IDIOT!"

Naruto POV--------

His eyes widened as the frog hopped around, the dark haired boy looked absolutely mortified.

He tried to think of an apology, but it seemed as though his voice had taken a holiday.

"You absolute...IDIOT!"

'Did he just call me an idiot!'

"How dare you call me an idiot you bastard! You're the one that was spying on me taking a bath!"

"I wasn't spying on you! Why would I even WANT to! You're not that interesting! And you ARE an idiot! What kind of moron would throw a frog at peoples heads!"

(AN: not interesting...denial is not just a river in Egypt ;;)

"HEY! I didn't know it was a frog! It's only natural for people to try and defend themselves from molesters like you!"

"Molester! You're the one that's washing up in a pond outside MY hometown! Don't you know people have bathrooms nowadays!"

'Hometown...? He's a samurai? If he is...maybe I can...'

His angry expression shifted into an all-knowing mischievous grin...

Sasuke POV----------

He didn't get it, something about the blond irked him...slightly...

One minute he's arguing, the next he's grinning like crazy.

'I don't like this at all...'

"Fine. As an apology I'll let you buy me some food."

One of his eyebrows twitched...

"Excuse me?"

"Let's go!"

The blond grabbed his arm and started to drag him off to the village, obviously forgetting his lack of clothes...

"Aren't you forgetting something..."

"Like what?"

Sasuke pointed towards the pile of garments.

"Oops..."

"Idiot..."

"What did you call me!"

The twitch returned in full force.

'Not this again...'

"Just hurry up and get dressed!"

---------------------------

Several arguments and a dressed Naruto later...

---------------------------

'He calls those...things...clothes?'

Said 'things' were practically falling apart.

Way to short pants and an oversized shirt that looked like it had suffered from several moth invasions.

The shirt was so big on the boy, it revealed his right shoulder.

It was almost as if a little boy was trying on his fathers clothes...

He would've probably made a comment like 'You're not seriously going to keep wearing that, are you?'.

If his gaze hadn't stranded on the said revealed shoulder...

Naruto POV-----------

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.

He was always told that samurai we're undeveloped and uncivilized people.

Brutes who only cared about when and where their next battle would be.

The stories he had heard were nothing at all like what he was seeing here.

People were constantly smiling at each other and bowing politely.

Children being taught how to fight with the sword and their patient teachers.

Somewhere down inside he felt like he was intruding.

He quickly suppressed the feeling though.

He wasn't going to let emotions get in the way of the mission again.

Tsunade needed that information.

Especially with the impending war...

Times were rough, the hidden villages no longer trusted one another.

Without allies it was every village for itself, enemies however saw an opportunity.

The lightning country's Hidden Cloud had already fallen.

A nearby samurai village decided to end the century old rivalry between the shinobi's and their selves.

There was nothing left of the former hidden village.

One of the great five had fallen.

With he attacks one the two smaller villages of Hidden Rain and Hidden Grass, Tsunade became worried.

The two small villages wouldn't last long and since none could tell where the attacks cane from, Tsunade had decided it would be best to have her shinobi gather as much information about the neighboring samurai-villages as possible.

After all, knowledge can be a dangerous weapon...


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter three out of a total of eleven finished chapters.

Notes:

Looooooot's of Japanese words, I really love this language so expect me to use a lot of it XD

I'll give a translation of the Japanese words I use for each chapter, this way you wont get confused.

If you still don't know what they are, you can easily find images on them on google or something.

-Kochi: This way

-Hai: Yes

-To mõshimasu: My name is (polite)

-Desu: I am

-Shoji: Traditional Japanese sliding doors.

-Geta sandals: Traditional Japanese footwear, looks like the Pi sign XD

-Zori tatami sandals: Traditional Japanese footwear, looks a little like slippers.

-Doushiyou: What should I do?

-Tadaima: kind of like I'm home

-Okaeri nasai: kind of like welcome home

-Hahaoya: one of the many ways of saying mother

-Rurouni: kind of like Wanderer, see Rurouni Kenshin

-Moya: A main hall, shinden-zukuri style architecture, Heian period

-Kakemono: Wall scroll

-Fusuma: Traditional Japanese sliding doors, these are usually covered in pretty handpainted pictures

-Ramma: Wooden carvings to fill up the open spaces in the sliding doors, they also function as ventilation

-Tatami: Mats, made of woven rice straw

-Herinumo: The cloth borders on a tatami mat

Chapter 3 Of families and famished fish

Sasuke POV 

Sasuke had no idea what he was doing...

He allowed a stranger- a foreigner even- to enter the village without even knowing his name or his reason for being here.

While pondering over his actions, he hadn't even realized he had been walking towards his home.

'Might be for the best...at least this way I'll be able to keep a close watch on him in case he's an enemy...'

Turning around he looked at the blond, he seemed to be taking in the scenery.

"Kochi..."

The boys blue eyes focused on him.

"H-hai"

Upon finally arriving at his destination, he looked towards the blond.

"This is my home, you're welcome to stay here as my guest for the duration of your visit to our village."

Sasuke bowed gracefully.

"Uchiha Sasuke to mõshimasu."

The blond clumsily returned the bow.

"Uzumaki Naruto desu. Thank you very much for your kindness.

I would love to stay with you, as long as it's not a problem of course."

"It wont be a problem, we have plenty of room"

'Especially after my brother left...'

He mentally added.

He opened the shoji and allowed his guest to enter the moya.

Naruto POV 

Naruto absolutely hated having to be this polite towards people.

He never had parents to teach him the 'traditional ways'.

He simply preferred shaking a persons hand rather then bowing like a drinky bird...

The people in the orphanage were always cold and distant, they would rather have turned him down the day he was sent there...

Let alone teach him 'etiquette'.

The boy named Sasuke opened the Shoji and stepped aside to let him into his temporary home.

He couldn't believe his eyes!

The main hall of this place could easily fit his entire living room.

He saw Sasuke take of his Geta sandals.

Naruto took of his Zori tatami sandals and placed them next to Sasuke's sandals.

He felt more uncomfortable by the minute, even though he really did want to stay here, Naruto wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep his 'origin' a secret.

This was originally meant as a stealth mission he was supposed to 'observe the subject from a safe distance'.

Being found out to be a spy in the middle of a village filled with skillful swordsmen was not exactly an ideal situation.

'Doushiyou...?'

Sasuke POV 

There was something odd about this Naruto-person.

'He seems to be really nervous.'

Sasuke decided to brush the thought off and decided to inform his family of their houseguest.

"Tadaima."

A familiar "Okaeri nasai" greeted him.

He walked towards the kitchen, his guest trailing behind.

His mother was busy preparing something in the kitchen.

She turned around and looked at the young man standing behind Sasuke.

"I hadn't even noticed you left this morning."

Sasuke flinched.

'What a surprise...'

"Who's your friend?"

"Hahaoya, this is Uzumaki Naruto, he will be staying with us for a while."

Naruto POV 

The woman, apparently Sasuke's mother, raised an eyebrow at the sight of his hair and eyes.

He could feel his face heating up from embarrassment, he knew that the people around here pretty much all had dark hair, to them it was a rare trait only foreigners or those of mixed blood possessed.

"Welcome to our home Uzumaki-san. I'm Sen, Uchiha Sen."

She smiled sweetly and bowed as gracefully as Sasuke had done earlier, he once again returned the bow.

'If this keeps up it's gonna cost me my back...'

"Very nice to meet you, I hope it's not a problem for me to stay here."

"Don't be silly dear, it's not a problem at all. Are you a traveler?"

"Yes, something like that."

"Any destination in mind?"

"No, not really, I just felt like seeing the world one day and got up and left."

"Ah, a rurouni! You look very young though, your parents must be so worried about you."

"That's ok, I don't have any parents..."

"Oh my, sorry to hear that..."

"Like I said, it's ok, really, my family died right after I was born, you can't miss what you don't know right?"

"Well then, I'll make sure you'll feel right at home here!"

Sasuke POV 

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow, he could tell his mother really liked the boy.

She barely knew him...he could feel himself becoming a little jealous.

'I admit he's cute and all but still...Did I just say cute?'

He snapped out of his thoughts as his mother called his name.

"Sasuke, why don't you show Uzumaki-san around the house."

"Hai, hahaoya."

Naruto POV 

It truly was a beautiful house, if one could call it that.

The builder combined several types of styles and periods.

The outer part of the house consisted of black Shoji's, the inside however contained beautifully painted Fusuma's, Ramma's gave the doors an even more spectacular look.

Several kakemonos with a fan like symbol covered the walls of the long hallways,

said hallways had a wooden floor while the rooms mostly had tatami floors.

The herinumo were decorated as well, all sorts of tiny flowers were woven into the cloth.

All in all, the house simply looked like a palace.

The last room they entered was the tea ceremony room.

Just as he expected, it looked over to the equally beautiful garden.

Many different types and colors of flowers could be seen, a sweet scent hit Naruto's senses.

He had always loved nature, never in his short life had he seen such a lovely garden.

He and Sasuke walked over the stone path and over a small wooden bridge that allowed people to cross a tiny pond filled with koi fish of all sizes.

Said fish looked at them curiously from the waters surface.

'Probably think they're gonna get fed..'

Sakura trees, Momo trees, Momiji trees and Mokuren trees were fully in bloom.

The fences surrounding the garden were covered in purple fuji blossoms.

Naruto already knew what his favorite spot in the house would be.

Sasuke POV 

Sasuke tried to keep the tour short and simple, he wasn't much of a talker.

He doubted that the blond was really paying attention anyways.

The aforementioned blond was currently looking at the fish.

'Fish...'

Realization dawned upon him after looking at said fish.

'I...forgot...to feed the fish...again...'

"Would you excuse me for a bit, the fish need to be fed."

"S-sure. I mean go ahead, they look really hungry."

'Rub it in why don't ya...'

He walked towards the small storage near the tea ceremony room and took out a small wooden bucket and filled it with the home made fish food.

He had been in such a bad mood this morning that he must've forgotten all about it.

Speaking of which, his bad mood was almost completely gone.

Things had moved so fast after his little run in with Naruto he simply hadn't been thinking about his problems anymore.

The raven-haired youth walked back towards the pond, his guest and the horde of famished fish.

The blond was crouched down at the edge of the pond.

He seemed to be staring at something...

Ignoring it, he proceeded in feeding the fish.

They looked like a pack of piranhas, fighting and shoving with one another for a bite of food.

He looked around to see if there were any other fish that still needed to be fed.

"Here's one!"

Sasuke turned to face Naruto who was still crouched and looking at something.

It must've been the ugliest fish ever...

A blue...thing with beady little eyes.

It looked more like a chibified shark then a koi fish.

Its spiky fins were a slightly darker blue and it was just staring ahead.

Doing...absolutely...nothing...other then... staring...

'My brother's pet fish...'

He ungracefully dumped the remainders of the food near the blue fish.

Said fish made no move whatsoever to eat the food.

The other fish however, refused to go anywhere near the blue fish's side of the pond.

No matter how famished they were...

His brother had loved that fish; Itachi could spend hours out here.

He had been jealous of it when he was younger, his brother rarely spend time with him, yet he seemed to be able to spend time with his koi whenever he felt like it.

(No pun intended XD)

Naruto seemed to be mesmerized by it as well, he could feel a tinge of jealousy forming...

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

And another chapter to keep you guys busy . 

Notes: Well, there's actually need for warning in this chapter GASP!

There's a little language, killing/gory (not THAT bad in my opinion) and an innocent little kiss.

So in short:

Warning:

People dying,

Kissing,

Slight gore

And suicide.

Disclaimer: I forgot to metion this in the previous chapter, but I don't own Naruto, never will…now I'm all depressed ;;

Chapter 4 Of fangirls and and suicides

Naruto POV 

It must've been the coolest fish ever!

The thing just floated there while the other fishies gave it room by staying on the other side of the pond.

'It's probably like the Hokage of fishies or something!'

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was currently glaring at the blue hokage-fish.

'Is the fish glaring back?'

"What did the fish ever do to you?"

There was no reply, the glare only seemed to intensify.

Now if it's one thing Naruto hated, it was being ignored…

"Did you spy on IT taking a bath as well…?"

Now THAT got him a reaction.

"I did NOT spy on you…"

"Not admitting it huh, I guess you're a closet pervert then."

The look he recived probably would've scared of an entire anbu-squad, the blond however just glared back with the most vicious look he could muster.

"What kind of a moron throws a frog anyways…?"

"I didn't know it was a frog allright! And I'm not a moron you bastard!"

(AN: Bout time I get them slightly into character )

"Who are you calling a bastard usuratonkachi!"

"That's it!"

Sasuke POV 

He was about to open his mouth to say something to the idiot when said idiot jumped him, a fist connected with his eye before pale hands closed around his troath.

The blond was trying to strangle him…

Failing miserably ofcourse, but the blow he received was enough to knock him flat on his ass.

He instinctively grabbed a handfull of naruto's shirt, shifted one of his legs in between those of the blonds and flipped the boy of of him.

The next thing that seemed to register in his mind was a loud splash…

"You jackass! What was that for!"

"You're the one that was trying to strangle me!"

"You were the one being a jerk!"

"And you needed to cool off!"

Naruto didn't respond to that last comment.

In stead, he took a deep sigh, smiled and held out his hand.

"Hn…"

Sasuke decided to do the civil thing and reached out to grab the blue eyed boys hand.

After all, it was an act of the moment kind of thing and he hadn't exactly been aiming, he hadn't meant for him to end up in the pond.

Not that he felt guilty---it's that he didn't want to traumatize the fish, ofcourse…

He should have known what was bout to happen though…

Naruto grabbed hold oh his hand, janked him into the water and dunked him.

The rurouni's hands were pushing down on his shoulders, normally a situation like this wouldn't be much of a problem, but his blue kimono was weighing him down.

The cloth, when wet, proved to be quite heavy.

Combined with the blonds surprising strength, the situation turned out to be a lot more difficult.

Sasuke opened his eyes trying to find a way out and stoped struggling.

Apparantly Naruto's outfit had a little surprise as well, the already revealing clothes became even more 'revealing' when wet.

In fact, they became pretty much see through…

Naruto POV 

"Cool down! I'll show you how to cool down!"

naruto screamed as he dunked the Uchiha boy.

"Let's see how you like taking a dip in the pond! And while you're at it, tell the fish I said hi!"

However after a moment of pushing and struggling, the brunette's actions stopped.

Naruto calmed down a bit as worry replaced anger. Sudenly the water started to color red.

'Oh my god! I killed him!'

He immediately tightened his grip on Sasuke's kimono and pulled him to the surface.

Noticing that the boy wasn't responding he proceeded in dragging him towards the edge of the pond.

He started to shake the black haired boys shoulders frantically.

"Oi! Sasuke! Daijoubu! Oi!"

Naruto didn't get a reaction, in fact, the boy was not or barely not breathing.

Realizing there wasn't much of an option,he decide to use CPR…

Sasuke POV 

The lack of air had made him dizzy, the loss of blood had made it even worse.

'I must've blacked out…'

The first thing Sasuke saw through his eye lashes were blue eyes, his mind raced.

'What is he doing!'

He wanted to stop the idiot, to hit him where it hurt for nearly drowning him.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to move, the image of the blonds body was stuck in his mind.

He could feel Naruto's hot breath on his lips as his eyes closed fully again…

"SASUKE-KUN! We wanted to wish you a happy birthda---"

He shot up out of pure shock, he could recocnize that sound better then anything.

Instinct once again taking over, telling him to run for his life before he was once again trampled by the hord of women that was undoubtfully standing just a few metres away.

But rather then the sound of rampaging footsteps to "catch him before he ran", loud gasps filled the air.

Sasuke then realized why…

His lips were pressed upon Naruto's, all in all, their position made it seem like they had just been caught making out…

'This….is bad…..'

Naruto POV 

Just when he was about to give the brunette CPR, a loud cry of 'Sasuke-kun' reached his ears, Naruto cringed at the loud voices.

The raven haired boy shot up immediately, a slight scared look on his normally stoic face.

He felt something soft pressed against his mouth.

'What the…?'

Naruto didn't know where to look, at the gorgeous onyx eyes that stared at him or at the large number of enraged ones that were currently gawking at them.

He felt a blush creep onto his whiskerred cheeks.

He finally gatherred his courage and looked at the group of young women, looks of shock and horror written all over their faces.

Naruto slowly got up, he felt as if he were cornered by a predator and if he were to make any sudden moves, he would be pounced upon. (AN: By the fangirls or Sasu-chan? XD)

**? POV**

The sky was dark and ominous near the once peacefull hidden village.

The smell of death and fire grew stronger the closer one got to the village standing there in between of two huge mountains.

If one were to step closer, past the guards post and through the demolished gate, you would be able to see a scene of great horror.

Bodies coverred the streets, looks of terror could be seen on the few faces that still resembled that of a human.

The roaring fire was the only thing left to make a sound.

Upon stepping even closer one could see the town acadamy for young shinobi, or rather what was once the twon acadamy.

For now there weren't any students left to teach….

Body parts could be seen all over the training field, the same place that had once been filled with the laughter of the future shinobi of this hidden village.

A loud scream pierced the silence of this 'village of the dead'.

A sharp blade connected to a mans chest, blood poured from the wound.

One look into his eyes however showed that the mans soul had long since perished.

The attacker was was either unaware or simply didn't care, for he kicked the man to the ground and raised his katana an pierced the mans skull.

The already blood covered ground welcomed the mans blood as it joined that of his people.

This man had once been the kage of this village, a village called hidden grass.

Eyes as red as the blood that was just spilled looked at the body that had fallen.

A sick and twisted smile plasterred on the handsome face.

He pulled the katana out and wiped it clean using the mans robes.

Footsteps sounded across the main street.

"Have you finished your mission?"

"Yes, I doubt the shinobi of this village will bother you or your plans again."

"You certainly know how to make yourself usefull my pet."

Pale fingers traced the beautifull ones face, he surpressed his urge to flinch as the man ran his fingers down his neck and proceeded in taking of his bloody kimono.

For it would not be wise to anger his master, not yet anyways….

Sasuke POV 

The look on the blonds face was priceless to say the least.

Sasuke probably would have laughed…

If it weren't for the group of females hot on their trail.

He and and his companion were currently running for their lives.

Some of the women were ready to kill them, others on the verge of breaking down in tears and yet another group was screaming at them to 'do more, or else'.

He didn't know which of the three he feared more…

Sasuke thanked his ancestors for his speed and endurance as the angry mob fell behind because of the need to breath.

The two boys however kept running to make absolutely sure they going to get caught.

After all, the fangirl is a terrifying creature…

Naruto POV 

They must've long since passed the villages borders, he let himself fall to the ground, not planning on getting up for quite some time.

He looked over at the brunette who was currently perched against a tree.

The accidental 'kiss' seemed to haunt the blonds thoughts.

Even though it had been an accident, it still counted, right?

It was after all his first, the one he had been saving up for the love of his life.

Naruto however had always pictured it to be with a girl, it wasn't as if he disliked the idea of men liking men 'that way', not at all, the man he considdered to be like a father or older brother was in love with another man, it was just that he had never looked at men 'that way'.

'At least he's pretty…or something like that…'

He decided to allow himself to look the guy over, I mean, wouldn't you actually like to remember what the person who you had your first kiss with looked like? No other reason ofcourse, just plain curiosity.(and even more denial XD)

Raven black hair, long equally dark lashes, smouldering dark eyes, pale skin…

The afformentioned dark eyes opened and locked onto his own bright blue ones.

The dark ones face was flushed, his chest was heaving and little drops of sweat covered his face, he realized he probably looked the same.

That and rememberring the 'position' they were caught in by those crazy women, Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

He had to admit that the situation must've looked really suspicious to those that didn't know what had happened earlier.

"What are you laughing about…?"

The question only made him laugh harder.

"…….Moron."

That did the trick.

"Bastard…"

The walk back to the village was a long and silent one, the two boys refused to talk to eachother after their last argument.

Sasuke didn't seem to have any problems with the silence, Naruto however, was a whole nother story.

He decided to be the first to swallow his pride and broke the silence.

"Did I hear correctly?"

"Hm?"

"Is it your birthday today?"

"….yes."

"So how old are you now?"

"I'm 18 years old…"

"Wow! So that means you're an adult now!"

"No…"

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"A samurai becomes an adult at age 15…"

"That young! That means I'm an adult too, I'm 17!"

"Hn."

"That means I'm old enough to drink sake and stuff, right!"

"Hn."

"Can't you say anything besides 'hn'…?"

"Yes…"

"….Jerk…"

"What's wrong, I thought you said you weren't talking to me anymore, I was actually enjoying things being quiet….."

"Fine! See if I EVER talk to you again!"

"Hn."

"Aaaaaargh!"

10 minutes later-------------

"Are we there yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"….."

"Are we there yet?"

"I said no!"

"How about now?"

Sasuke saw red.

He had tried his best to remain calm, after all, it's considdered extremely rude to strangle your guest, his honour as a young samurai was at stake.

His patience however was wearing thin…

Luckily the village came into view, he picked up his pace as he noticed that the sun was going down already.

His father would not be pleased if he were to be late for the dinner his mother had most likely been preparing all day.

A rather large crowd however stopped them.

His father and mother were standing amongst them.

Sasuke immediately understood what was happening and grabbed naruto's wrist as he joined the crowd.

Naruto POV

'What's going on?'

A tatami mat was placed in the middle of the street, on it, an old man kneeled down on a pillow that was placed upon the tatami mat.

On his left, about a meter away, a katana bearing man looked on with a thoughtfull expression on his face.

The kneeling man had a similair expression on his face, a knife lay before him on a lacquered tray.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, then at the crowd.

The people were as silent as the hokage carvings in Konoha.

The man, an old samurai no doubt, sat there for quite a while.

The silence unnerved Naruto somehow and the urge to ask questions became stronger.

Noticing the old mans white kimono, Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'Is this some kind of weird wedding ceremony?'

Then suddenly the man moved, he loosened the folds of his kimono and exposed his belly.

He lifted the knife with one hand and unsheathed it with the other, he set the sheath on his side.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit.

'What's he gonna do with that!'

The old man drove the knife into the left side of his belly and drew it across to the right.

Naruto's eyes doubled in size.

'What in the world's going on! How can they all just stand there and let the old guy kill himself!'

The blade was turned in the wound and brought upward.

The younger man standing on his left then use a crosswise cut and cut of the old mans head.

After a moment of silence the crowd started to disperse, their faces void emotions.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, the black haired boy's face was as empty as that of the others.

Said boy turned around and motioned for Naruto to follow.

"What in the world just happened there!"

Sasuke halted and took a deep breath.

"Seppuku."

"What?"

"Seppuku, most likely a Sokotsu-shi…"

"But why didn't anyone do anything!"

"You really aren't from around here are you…"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

The young Uchiha sighed.

"Seppuku is the art of ritual suicide. Sokotsu-shi means that he took his life as a means for making amends for his transgressions…"

"But why kill yourself! You could just say you're sorry!"

"Not when you're a samurai…"

Naruto became as silent as the crowd had been.

"To a true samurai, honour means everything. To live without honour is a faith far worse then death…"

The young shinobi did not understand, however, he did understand that honour was a big deal around here.

He would mention it in his first report to the hokage….

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter of my first practise ficcie 'Of samurai and Shinobi'!

Chapter 5 Of Fathers and Feelings

Naruto POV

Sasuke's father raised an eyebrow at the sight of the young foreigner.

Naruto surpressed a flinch from the stern gaze.

'I should have dyed my hair…'

He thought, even though he knew that his eyes would still attract attention.

"Sasuke, would you mind introducing your friend?"

The man asked in a tone that seemed to scream 'What the hell is a foreigner doing in our house?'.

Naruto swallowed the growing lump in his throat, smiled gently and turned towards Sasuke.

Said raven haired samurai simply glared at his father.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, a rurouni. He will be staying here as my guest."

Naruto's mind translated it as 'Technically it's none of your bussiness, but I'll endulge you…'

The shinobi spy took a step back, the tension was thick enough to cut with a kunai.

"What in the world happened to your kimono **_boy_**?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary…"

The man closed his eyes, a slight scowl visible on his harsh face.

"Go change….**_boy_**…" 'No! Don't leave me with your father!'

"Whatever."

Sasuke said before gracefully walking towards what Naruto guessed was his room.

'Sasuke! How could you!'

His eyes met the dark haired ones before he disappeared through the sliding door.

Was that sympathy in those dark eyes?

Whatever it was, it was gone in a flash though, as was Sasuke, his only hope.

Naruto felt eyes burning into the back of his head, he slowly turned to look at Sasuke's father, fake smile back in full force.

Naruto bowed.

"Dõzo, yoroshiku!"

His reply was a slight nod of the head.

"It's obvious my son has been a terrible host. I'll have my wife prepare a bath for you and a proper attire…"

"R-really, it's kind enough of you to let a young rurouni like me stay here, I rea-"

"I insist."

Translated;

'You look awfull and smell like a landfill, either wash up or get lost.'

Naruto gulped and bowed again.

"Thank you very much for your kindness."

The man walked towards where Naruto rememberred the kitchen was.

A few moments later Sasuke's mother came into view, she looked like a dog that just got spanked by it's master.

The blond made a move to comment on it, but Sasuke's mother spoke before he could open his mouth.

"Don't mind my husband sweety, with Beisetsu-dono's seppuka and all, things have been quite stressfull lately."

Naruto gave her a look that seemed to scream sympathy.

"I'm sorry to bother you in such a stressfull time."

"Now none of that! I'll have no apologies when there is nothing to apologize for!"

She smiled gently.

"Yes mam."

'I wonder if my own mother was anything like her…'

"Follow me."

The bath was huge!

It looked like a miniature onsen or something!

"Wait here a bit."

Sen turned to leave, Naruto returned his gaze to the bathroom.

The walls were made of a gorgeous type of wood, he couldn't quite see what type, the steam coming from the humongous bath clouded his vision.

"Here you are sweety."

Sasuke's mother walked into the room with dark blue colored clothes.

"I do hope they're not to big. They're some of Sasuke's old clothes."

She put them down on a small table in the back of the room.

"I'll call you when it's dinner time."

Naruto bowed again, it was quickly starting to become a habit.

"Thank you very much."

"There's no need to thank me, in fact, I should be thanking you."

"Huh?"

"This place needed a fresh breeze and Sasuke needs a friend."

The smile she shot him was a heart warming one, Naruto smiled back.

'I wish I would have gotten to know my mother…'

Sasuke POV

'Damn him…'

The young Uchiha angrily threw his dirty kimono to the ground.

'Damn him. Damn him! DAMN him!'

His father was always like that.

He always managed to make him feel like he was some kind of inferior being and not worthy of his 'almighty' presence, Sasuke had long since given up on trying to make his father proud of him.

He just knew it had something to do with his brother.

His father somehow blamed him for Itachi leaving.

'Damn him and Itachi too!'

His brother should have never left home.

He should have never left his younger brother on his own with all these responsibilities.

Sasuke had hated his brother before he left for always being better then him and stealing their parents attention away.

He hated him even more for leaving him on his own.

Yet he knew…

Deep down inside that he had loved his brother, perhaps he still did, he would rather die then to admit it though…

Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror, he really did look awfull.

Mud was stuck in places he never knew it could reach, tiny leaves and twigs in his hair from the tree he sat against back in the forest.

He didn't even want to imagine how awfull his kimono must look.

'I'd better take a bath or else I'll give the old bastard another thing to nag about…'

Bastard.

Now that brought up some recent memories.

Sasuke silently wonderred how the blond was doing, he hadn't meant to leave him on his own, he just didn't feel like making a scene in front of his guest.

'Since when do I care about that?'

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, a little habit he had picked up from his father and brother.

Ever since the boy had walked into his life, things had gotten akward.

He had to admit it was 'pleasantly akward' though, his life had gotten a lot less dull.

He silently wished he could be a rurouni as well…

To wonder around the world without a care other then when you're going to spend the night, who your next opponent is or when your next meal will be.

To see the world and visit it's great cities…

'I want to get out of here…'

This town was driving him crazy, the same routine day in day out.

The same women fawning over him, or rather his looks, even though they didn't even know what kidn of person he was.

Sasuke grabbed a towel and a clean kimono, he proceeded into walking to the bathroom.

Maybe a relaxing bath would take his mind of things.

The brunette opened the door and noticed the blonds discarded old clothes.

'I guess he's already in here.'

Sasuke walked towards the water taps and washed of someof the grime he was currently coverred with.

He wrapped the towel around his wais and walked towards the bath while fighting down a blush that was threathening to stain his pale complexion.

He knew there was nothing to be embarrased about this time, after all, they were both young men of the same age and this was a bath for multiple people….right?

"IYAAAAAAAAAA! Are you peeping on me again!" Right….

Naruto POV

"Finally!"

After all the travelling he had done he was finally ale to take a hot bath.

Naruto imagined that this mission was going to be absoluteley awfull.

No ramen, spending his days in a crummy hotel, it hadn't turned out bad at all.

Then the blond froze as he heard someone enter the bathroom, he looked at the 'intruder'.

"IYAAAAAAAAAA! Are you peeping on me again!"

An annoyed look appeared on the handsome face.

'Handsome…?'

Naruto felt like hitting himself, thinking about a guy who keeps appearing every time you're naked in such a manner probably meant you were going crazy…

'Or you just like the idea…'

'Shut up! I don't like it when people spy one me!'

'Why not? That's technically what you're here for isn't it?'

'That's different!'

'No…that makes you a hypocrit.'

He absolutely HATED that nagging little voice.

Ever since he was a little kid he'd had a really 'verbal' consience.

Naruto had wonderred on more on one occasion if there was something wrong with him.

After all, hearing voices was never a good thing, not even to a 'future Hokage'.

"I'm not peeping, I'm taking a bath."

"Like I'm stupid enough to fall for that…"

"Apparantly you are…"

"Bastard!"

The black haired boy climbed into the bath to naruto's left and removed the now wet towel.

Naruto glared at him, he still didn't trust him.

He had noticed that look on his face back when they first met and Naruto had met many perverts in his life.

'Friggin' closet pervert…'

Naruto looked him over.

'Yep, defenitely a closet pervert.'

Sasuke POV

'He looks kinda cute when he's pouting…'

Sasuke felt the corners of his mouth twitch, he really DID look adorable.

He didn't know if ot were the whisker like markings, the baby blue eyes, the messy blond hair or the afformentioned pout.

He couldn't help but agree with his hormones, one id not fight with ones hormones when tired, you'd always end up loosing.

He noticed the blonds eyes going over his body.

'Is he checking me out?'

Relationships between men were quite a commen thing in these regions, if one could truly call it a relationship that is.

Once you become an adult you were allowed to court.

And since courting a woman meant a family and added responsibility, young men preffered to get rid of their 'frustrations' amongst themselves.

It was expecte to ceise such actions once one courted a woman though.

Sasuke had thought Naruto to be raised differently, most outsiders were, or at least he had thought so at first.

Now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Deep down inside he had to admit the blond was attractive in an akward sort of way.

"What did the old guy do anyways?"

"Hm?"

"That Bei-something guy."

'Who? Oh…'

"He ran from a battle."

"A battle?"

"Yes."

"A battle with who?"

'Where has this idiot been living!'

Sasuke took a deep breath, he really didn't feel like explaining this to the blond.

However, the last time he had tried ignoring him near water the results were catactrophic…

Naruto POV

"A battle?" "Yes." "A battle with who?"

Now this was interresting…

'Could the people from this village be the ones responsible for the attacks on the shinobi villages?'

He felt a slight tug at his heart.

If Sasuke and his people really were behind this then the remaining shinobi villages would unite their power and crush the young Uchiha and his family.

Naruto's heart must've been pounding so hard that he was sure Sasuke could hear it.

"There have been quite a few attacks lately…"

naruto's eyes widened.

'What is this I'm feeling? I barely know the guy! Why should I care about what happens to him!'

"Several villages were destroyed in the process…"

'No…you may be a jerk, but you can't be the monster behind those massacres. You can't be…'

The strange feelings seemed to grow stronger, he couldn't quite place them all.

Worry? Fear? Something else perhaps?

Naruto released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and silently awaited the rest of Sasuke's answer….

TBC

And yeah, I skipped this last time. Oh well X3

Reviewers replies!;

To Dreams raven; Oooooooh! Peacemaker! I'm still supposed to read that 

Is this a fast enough update ;)

To Evvy; I personally can't wait to see either, I just thought of the plot 

To Hogo-chan; I updated:) (since ffnet won't allow genki smiles anymore, this'll have to do)

To Lady Samurai: Good question, it will be revealed in the next chapter ;)

To Soltic; I should be thanking you! Reviews like these really encourage me to do more. I'm still practising after all X3

Hope you guys like this chapter as well!


	6. Chapter 6

Now for some shameful advertising…

I've been hanging around Gaiaonline a lot.

I'm a member of a guild there called 'Hidden Yaoi'.

I'm proud to say I draw the guild manga there!

http/ 

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 6 Of Rumours and Perverts

Naruto POV

Sasuke raised his eyes to meet with Naruto's.

"What villages?"

"A samurai village a couple of miles away, another one around the mist country and several snaller villages up north."

Naruto visibly relaxed and let out a small sigh of relief.

'It's not him…'

"Have they found the people who did it yet?"

Perhaps the ones that had attacked the shinobi cities were behind these attacks as well.

"Yes and no…They suspect that the shinobi did it."

"The shinobi's! Why would they want to attack you!"

"You really are clueless about what's going on in the world aren't you!"

"You're the one that's clueless! Shinobi would never attack people without a reason!"

"Like shinobi would actually care about 'reason'! They're nothing more then savages!"

"Savages! I'll have you know they're a LOT more civilized then Samurai! At least they don't pointlessly kill themselves!"

"Oh yeah we—"

Sasuke stopped his retort mid-sentence and looked at Naruto with a look of confusion on his face.

"What exactly do you mean by 'they're more civilized then samurai'? Have you spoken to them?"

'Oh shit….'

Tsunade had told him not to reveal ANYTHING about the shinobi, but if he didn't…

"W-well of course I have! I've seen lot's of things during my travels! And I can tell you one thing is certain, shinobi AREN'T like that!"

"You've _seen_ them and they let you live?"

Naruto felt his anger rising again. 'How dare that jerk say such things about my people!'

To think he had actually been concerned about him!

"Obviously! And if anything YOU'RE the savages! The shinobi are kind and generous! You must've been attacked by someone else, 'cause they wouldn't just randomly attack people without a good reason!"

Naruto was fuming right now, true, shinobi did carry out a lot of 'dirty' missions like assassination so to speak, butt that didn't make them barbarians.

"Then prove it…"

"Huh?"

He sure hadn't been expecting that.

"Prove it? What do you mean?"

"Prove to me they're not savages…"

"How do you expect me to do that?"

Naruto really didn't like where this conversation was going…

'What have I gotten myself into?'

"Take me there…."

"I-I can't!"

"And why not?"

"W-well because…they're not really keen on being visited by samurai right now…"

He was supposed to be the one asking for information, not giving it!

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

'Great….normally he's as talkative as a wall, NOW he develops social skills?'

"It means that THEY'RE currently being attacked by samurai!"

'Something weird is going on…'

"That's absolutely ridiculous! Why would we do that!"

"You tell me!"

'Something REALLY weird! I have a bad feeling about this…'

"How do you know they weren't just making things up."

"Because I was there when one of the raids took place. How do I know the samurai aren't the ones lying!"

Sasuke however didn't respond, he seemed to be processing the rather shocking information.

"S-sasuke?"

The sound of his name seemed to do the trick.

"After dinner I think we should talk to the elder…"

'I'm in trouble…'

------------------------------

The two young men were clean and dressed in fresh clothes.

The blond shinobi was currently pulling on the sleeves of his strange getup.

'I feel like I'm wearing a dress…'

"Stop pulling…"

"But it feels weird!"

"You're obviously not used to wearing a kimono…"

Naruto did NOT understand how something this uncomfortable could be everyday wear around here.

'Maybe that's why he always acts like he has a ten foot pole up his ass….'

"What are they like?"

" Who?"

"The shinobi, what are they really like?"

"Aren't you talkative all of a sudden…besides you still didn't tell me what the deal was with the old guy."

"I did tell you. He ran from a battle with the shinobi, or whoever they are…He abandoned his fellow samurai and ran to save his own hide. Almost all of the warriors there were killed. Including his youngest son…"

Naruto sighed, a sad yet understanding look on his whiskered face.

"Well, even though it was wrong, you can't really blame an old man for wanting to live…right?"

"I guess that's a matter of beliefs then."

Naruto nodded at that, shinobi and samurai were like cats and dogs.

Their habits seemed strange to one another so they didn't trust each other.

Dogs wag their tails when happy, cats when upset.

Was this entire 'rivalry ordeal' caused by misunderstood intentions?

"Now tell me."

'Tell him? Oh, right…'

"Well first tell me what you know about them, or else I'll end up telling you stuff you already know."

'Or things you're not allowed to know…'

"I've heard talk of them being sorcerers. They use magic to jump to great heights and summon animals. They wear dark clothes and never reveal their face."

"What else?"

"They never sleep and are almost impossible to kill, they pretty much always disappear when you try to hit them or turn themselves into objects like tree stumps. They have inhuman speed and the power to move instantly from one place to another. That's about all we know…"

Naruto couldn't hold in his laughter anymore, earning himself a heated glare from the brunette.

'Sorcerers? Magic? They actually believe in a far fetched story like that?'

"I take it the information is incorrect."

The tone of voice used by the dark haired young man indicated that he was quite offended by the sudden outburst of the blond and was not going to stand around and take it for much longer.

"You think? Honestly, sorcerers? They're warriors like you guys. I mean, they can summon animals alright, but that's simply their way of fighting."

"You mean to tell me that everything we were taught as children, was false information?"

"I guess so."

Sasuke was about to open his mouth to ask more questions but a sudden shout from the raven haired samurais mother announced that is was time to sit down and have dinner.

"Dinner time!"

Naruto exclaimed happily and dragged Sasuke to the origin of the pleasant scent of a hot home cooked meal.

-------------------------------------

Naruto was surprised at how formal everyone was dressed up.

True, there was enough food for a small family reunion, Sasuke's mother really had gone overboard…

The shinobi however noticed that there was one plate too many.

'Is someone else coming?'

He sat beside Sasuke and picked up his hashi, apparently people didn't say 'Itadakimasu' around here…they pretty much didn't talk at all.

'Things are more cheerful at a funeral then here…'

That strange tension he had felt earlier during the conversation between Sasuke and his father was back full force.

'There's something odd about this family…'

Even Naruto an orphan since the day he was born could tell something strange was going on, their way of behaving towards each other just wasn't normal.

Sen seemed to fear her husband, Sasuke pretty much hated the mans guts, said father behaved like a cold-hearted jerk.

It was almost as if there was no love in this family whatsoever, not to mention that extra plate…

'Did someone die or something?'

He decided to ask the brunette about it later.

--------------- Sasuke POV ------------

'Looks like mother was stupid enough to set an extra plate again…'

It was a habit she had, she had always hoped that his aniki would just walk through the door and sit at his usual place at the table.

It was a sign that even though Itachi had left his family and responsibilities to roam around the world, he would always be welcome here.

He absolutely hated it when she did that…

She simply couldn't see that his brother wasn't going to come back, he had most likely forgotten he even had a family back here.

Sasuke honestly wouldn't be surprised if his brother had a family of his own somewhere far away from here…

His father was apparently not taken by the 'sentimental' sign, quite the opposite. Of course the old man wanted Itachi back, after all, his brother _was_ the prodigy.

His mother would probably be scolded for the plate again and would most likely be sporting some rather colourful bruises afterwards.

---------------------------

Sasuke got up as soon as the blond finished his meal and looked at his mother, purposely ignoring his father.

"We're going out for a bit."

The blue eyed young man got up as well and bowed.

"Thank you very much for this lovely dinner."

The samurai turned and walked towards the sliding doors, he grabbed his sandals and opened the door that lead outside.

"So what's this elder like?"

Sasuke looked back at Naruto, who was currently struggling to get his own footwear on while dealing with the kimono.

"You'll see when we get there…"

"C'mon! Tell me!"

"…."

"Don't be a bastard. Just tell me!"

The whining blond was giving him a typical 'puppy dog eyes' look, it was rather hard to resist…

But he was an Uchiha and Uchiha's didn't crumble under a 'look'…no matter how adorable said look was.

"No."

"……Jerk….."

"Hn."

"Would you cut it out with the 'Hn' already!"

"….Whatever."

"The 'Hn' thing is really getting annoying, can't you say anything besides 'Hn'!"

"Didn't you already ask that before? And the answer was yes, moron."

"Moron! Fine! See if I ever talk to you again!"

"You said that before as well, twice…"

"Aaaaaargh!"

What could he say?

He liked agitating the blond, call it a strange hobby…

----------------------------------

The streets were rather crowded, a lot of people were having hushed conversations with their neighbours. They went completely silent however when the two boys walked past them.

It was nerve-wracking…

Sasuke felt like he was some sort of rare animal on display, or rather like a person putting a rare animal on display.

The fangirls had undoubtedly spread rumours across the village about the blond rurouni., most likely about the incidental kiss as well…

He felt a slight tug on his sleeve and a soft whisper.

"Ne…Sasuke…why are they staring at us like that?"

"Why don't you ask them…"

Naruto pouted.

"I'm serious you jerk! Those women over there look like they want to kill me!"

Sasuke looked at the crowd of young women and indeed, the blond was being glared at with killer intent.

'Are they…jealous? Of Naruto?'

Upon further examination he noticed the blond was getting another form of attention other then silent death threats.

Suddenly Sasuke was the one who felt jealous.

Several of the village men were looking at Naruto like they wanted to devour the ignorant blond…

Naruto walked close behind him with a nervous look on his face.

"See! I told you!"

"Just ignore them…"

'What a plan…'

"Ignore them! But they're creepy! Why are they staring anyways!"

"Rumours fly around real quick around here…"

He really hoped the idiot picked up the clue.

"What rumours?"

'Fine, clues are definitely not his strong point…'

"Apparently they think you're my lover or something…"

"YOUR WHAT!"

Sasuke flinched at the loud voice, not quite expecting the blonds voice to be this loud.

"Keep your voice down! Just think you idiot. They saw what happened earlier and formed their opinion on it."

"But that was an accident!"

"Not in their eyes, women are crazy like that…"

(AN: XD couldn't resist )

'And it would also explain the male admirers as well…'

After all the Uchiha family was the most prestigious clan in the entire village, if not country.

They had the best of everything, 'bed mates' were no exception.

'Looks like I'll have to keep an eye on him for as long as he's in the village…'

Not like he really wanted to watch Naruto wherever he went, not really…

(AN: Right X3)

------------------------ Naruto POV ---------------------

'His lover! Where the HELL did they get that idea!'

He was feeling extremely nervous, honestly, he was used to being stared at back in Konoha, but not like this…

This was plain ridiculous!

'Is it such a big deal for this guy to have a lover?'

Not that he was interested in actually being the jerks lover or anything.

It was bad enough to have lost his first kiss to the stubborn bastard, like he was actually going to give him his virginity as well. Nope, not Naruto.

(AN: Right…again X3 I'll shut up now )

Finally the elders house came into view, or at least what Naruto assumed was the elders house.

Unlike the other houses in the village, this one was lifted up into the air by huge poles underneath the house.

A huge set of stairs lead towards large wooden doors.

Inside a white haired man sat in front of an altar.

Under normal circumstanced Naruto would have been impressed, if it wasn't for the dirty magazines the old guy was reading…

'If it's one thing I learned, it's that this village is completely harmless. It's filled with psychotic women and perverted men….'

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to yet another very late chapter of my story.

Yes, I admit it, I'm late yet again.

I'm becoming like Kakashi……

I just had my first case of the evil thing professional writers call writers block.

I've rewritten this chapter 12 times 

Funny how the thirteenth time was the one I ended up posting 

I'm still not entirely happy with it…

Oh well.

The most important thins is it's finally finished.

And hopefully the next chapter will be on time 

Ok, for this chapter, there's some language, hints of shounen-ai and a kiss!

I've also added in another pairing, or should I say two.

Sasuke???/???

Yes, it's a secret ;3

Let's just say it's a present for Sasuke's birthday, late as well XD

Happy belated birthday Sasuke-kun!

And an early happy birthday to my fellow writer Mali-chan!

I added the kiss as an early birthday present ;)

Enjoy!

Chapter 7 Of Sannin and First Kisses

-------------------

Naruto POV

The perverted old man turned around and walked towards the two young men, he seemed to be deep in thought……all the while checking out young Naruto, his eyes mainly focussed on the legs of everyone's favourite blond…

'I don't like the way he's looking at me…at all. Damn pervert.'

He had to admit that the kimono looked a bit strange on him.

It technically was made for Sasuke though.

They were like polar opposites, Sasuke was tall, pale and slender.

Naruto was shorter, broader and had a tan.

The kimono was still practically falling from his shoulders though.

It was also too long, he had to tie down a lot of cloth with the obi.

Rather then fitting like a second skin, he looked more like a Geisha…

His legs were kind of showing as well.

After a long silence the guy finally had the decency to stop staring and speak up.

"So this is the 'Uchiha-pet' I've been hearing about."

'Uchiha….pet?'

"Kinda puny looking if you ask me."

'Puny!'

"Is he any good in bed?"

'That does it!'

The blond patience had finally run out of patience, true, it might not be the best of idea's to

insult the chief of a village, he himself had had some rather unpleasant encounters with Tsunade's fists of steel because of his 'outbursts', but the guy was outta line here.

"You pervert! Is it so hard for you to actually consider that I might be JUST a guest!"

The old man just gave him 'a look'.

One of those that combined boredom and irritation into one.

"Very simple. The Uchiha's never have guests from outside of the village…Come to think of it, they rarely have guests at all…"

"There's a first time for everything you lecherous old geezer!"

"How DARE you call me a geezer you little brat! I look older then I really am because of the harsh life of a great warrior! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO!"

"To a perverted old man with a horrible fashion sense!"

"I'll have you know I'm a legendary and noble warrior! Now sit down and listen!"

The white haired man got up slowly.

Naruto had to admit; he was rather tall and bulky….for a man his age.

Most people probably would have backed off by now, but this _was_ Naruto however…

'What _is_ he doing?'

The man assumed some weird position and started some kind of weird dance, involving a lot of hopping around and swinging of his hair…

"Bow your head and hold your breath, for I am the one that's magnificence could split mountains and silent crying women and children.

I am known all across the fire country and beyond. Tremble in fear and amazement, for I am the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya-sama!

That's me!"

A long silence filled the room, Sasuke, who had been quiet throughout the entire ordeal, wisely remained silent. It would be the blond to break the rather uncomfortable silence…

"……….Who?"

"Jiraiya dammit! Would you pay attention!"

"You don't honestly expect me to take you seriously after that dance performance do you?"

Before any further comments could be exchanged, Sasuke cut in, successfully stopping the two from starting another argument.

"Jiraiya…sama. I wish to have a word with you concerning the shinobi."

The elder tried to reign in his anger and sat back down, he made a gesture for the two of them to sit down on the pillows on the other end of the small table.

"Very well, but I expect you to teach your plaything some manners…"

Naruto made a move to smack the old man, but Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down to sit beside him on the pillow.

"Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"This young man here is Uzumaki Naruto, a young rurouni."

Jiraiya looked at the blond who was currently struggling with Sasuke's arm like a kitten would with a ball of yarn.

"I'll kill him! Let go!"

Naruto's request however was completely ignored, quite the opposite. Sasuke's arm was removed from the blond shoulder, only to wrap itself around Naruto's slim waist and held on quite tightly.

"There seems to be a. interesting development at hand. As you know the shinobi have been terrorizing the samurai villages for quite some time now."

The old man raised an eyebrow.

"And your point would be?"

"My point is that this young man has been so kind as to inform me that the shinobi themselves have been suffering from similar attacks."

The bored/annoyed look on Jiraiya's face was replaced by one of mild interest.

"The shinobi are attacking their own kind now?"

The blond started to relax, he needed whatever information he could get. His people were counting on it!

"He claims the attacks were from samurai."

"That's preposterous! All of our forces are out there fighting against the shinobi intruders!

We don't nearly have enough forces to protect our homes, let alone a full out attack on the Shinobi base!

Even if we did, we have no idea where the base is! What in the world gave you the idea we would attempt an attack?"

'Not enough forces? Now that's the kind of information I can use…I'd better answer the old geezer…'

"Because I was there when one of the attacks happened. I was a guest in their village when it happened. I SAW them!"

The Sannin seemed shocked.

"Since when do the shinobi allow visitors?"

"They always have. They're proud and noble warriors, they wouldn't just randomly attack people like that!"

He had the old guys full attention now…

"And how would you know that…"

There was a suspicious tone in the old man's voice that alerted Naruto to watch his step…

It would be bad if he got caught now, the information he just picked up was vital.

The samurai would NEVER let him go if they found out, he needed to get this info to Tsunade!

"I stayed with them for quite a while. I actually considered staying there, ya know, have a family, open a shop or something like that.

But with all those battles going on I decided not to, I wouldn't want to settle in a place where you constantly have to fear for your life. I'd rather pick a more…stable place."

The old man nodded and visibly relaxed, visible to the trained eye that is.

Shinobi were taught to read expressions like a scroll.

True, Hyuuga Neji was a lot better at it then him, but it still came in handy while in enemy territory.

Naruto silently thanked his former sensei Iruka…

"That's understandable. Do you have any proof?"

"Well I'm alive aren't I?"

Jiraiya let out a full-heated laugh.

"You can't blame us for being a little shocked about hearing such a thing about ones sworn enemies.

After all, it IS your word against hundreds of years of experience with the shinobi.

You can't expect me to believe a little brat like you who doesn't have a shred of evidence about a matter such as this, no matter how cute you are.

You would have probably given my predecessor a heart attack with a statement like that."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance from the newly acquired nickname.

"Well I didn't come to this village to give you information in the first place, _ero_-sannin."

He said while adding a rather nasty insulting tone to the ero part.

"You can choose to believe me or not, I really don't care."

The white haired man had a sly smile on his face.

"Why exactly _did_ you come to this village?"

"I didn't COME here. He-"

The whisker marked teen pointed at the brunette to make his point even more clearly.

"-invited me here. I would have probably gone straight passed this village if it weren't for him"

"Then why do you remain here?"

'Am I on trial or something!'

The blond was getting annoyed with the questions…

"Because I left my home out of curiosity to see new places. The shinobi did complain a lot about 'treacherous samurai', I guess it's a good opportunity to see what you guys are like first hand. But if you don't like me being here, I'll leave just as gladly!"

"Hmmmmmmm."

'Hmm what? Is he on to me or something?'

The old man got up and walked over to the young undercover shinobi.

Said shinobi looked up at him, wondering what he was about to do.

"Well, I'll be damned if the shinobi get one up on us. You're welcome to stay in our village as long as you want to. If you don't mind the idea of being attacked by shinobi in your sleep. Or perhaps you should be more concerned with getting molested while you're asleep."

The old pervert pointed at Sasuke's arm.

Naruto had forgotten all about it…

Before he could tell Sasuke to back off however, a huge hand slapped against his back.

"The two of you look good together. If I remember correctly, Sasuke still needs a date for tomorrow's festival."

The mentioned black haired boy instantly removed his arm.

"A festival?"

"Yes, a festival to celebrate this years great harvest. It's just a few drinks amongst comrades, entertainment, a dance and some fireworks. We'll show you TRUE hospitality! As for the information you just gave me, I'll have it looked into by my men. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more research to do."

The man walked back to the table and picked up another one of his dirty magazines.

'Research my ass…Damn old pervert.'

The two young men got up and walked towards the exit, before they could leave, Jiraiya's voice stopped them.

"Oh, and Sasuke?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, still not saying anything.

"Try to keep it down at night. Don't want the villagers to start complaining to me about the noise. He looks like a screamer…"

Within the wink of an eye,

Sasuke blushed.

Naruto lunged.

Sasuke grabbed.

Naruto was flung over a broad shoulder and resumed his kitten like struggle…

People stared.

Gossip spread once again.

And parents covered their children's ears as a rather colourful rain of curses was directed at their village elder and most eligible bachelor.

Including several lines as "I'll kill the old son of a bitch!" and "Where the HELL are you touching me you perverted bastard?"

Sasuke sighed.

This was going to be one hell of a time…

The brunette felt the corners of his mouth twitch, he suppressed the urge to smile.

An abusive father, a deranged mother and a deserting brother.

Naruto would fit right in…

(AN; I planned to leave it here…but I've been making you guys wait so ;p)

-------------------

Sasuke POV

The walk home was a rather interesting one.

People were staring at them again, but this time, rather then out of amazement, they were in shock.

Sasuke knew exactly what they were shocked about.

He normally never behaved like this…

He was a cold and quiet person, some people even referred to him as being emotionless, cruel and harsh towards everyone.

He was just fine with that.

At least it meant that they would leave him alone, he didn't like it when people sought out his affection solely for his good looks.

He had silently cursed his good looks several times before…

When people grew tired of a pretty face, they tended to see someone's short-comings more and more. They would soon grow tired of you altogether…

It had happened to a close friend of him…

He had been as pure as snow, until that man arrived…

He had promised the boy to take him to his secret lover.

He was so deeply in love with his proud and mysterious warrior that he accepted the man's offer…and was betrayed harshly…

Sasuke was the one who discovered the body, that of his childhood friend and the secret lover.

They lay in each others arms, blood covered the virgin white snow.

There was a small smile on his friends pale face.

It had snowed that day….and it didn't stop until after the funeral.

The secret love had been a shinobi assassin, come to the village to try and find their weakness.

It had become just another story parents would teach their children, shinobi were the same as the monsters in the forests at night. Or at least that was what they made it seem to be..

The villagers suspected his friend had found out about the man being a spy and had gone to stop him, he succeeded, but it had cost him his life…

None of them knew the truth, the part about how much his friend had loved the shinobi spy…

Sasuke didn't quite believe it, that other man had something to do with it.

He had been friends with that assassin.

He could only hope his friend was happy now…

Friend.

Who was he kidding…

He had had a crush on him, a childish crush, but a crush nonetheless.

It wasn't even the fact that his friend had treated him like a normal person.

It had been his eyes, he recognized something in them.

He couldn't quite place it though…

Come to think of it, Naruto had similar eyes, a different colour, but still similar.

Perhaps…just perhaps…

Sasuke's hold on Naruto grew tighter again.

Would he be able to hold onto this one?

Or would another man or woman come and take him away from him just like…

Sasuke immediately stopped thinking about the subject.

He didn't need something as pitiful as love, he would be engaged to some woman of his parents choice anyways.

He shouldn't waste his time with futile attempts at romance, he didn't need anyone.

Not his parents, not his brother, not Naruto, not _him_.

A rather nasty impact with a certain blonds knee caused him to snap from his thoughts.

'Where did he get so powerful?'

"Would you stop kicking so much!"

"I'll stop kicking if you let me go!"

"If I let you go you'll ed up making an even bigger scene then you already are."

"No I wont!"

"Yes you will, you're still pissed at Jiraiya."

"So what if I am! He was a pervert! And come to think of it, so are you!"

"For the last time! I'm NOT a pervert!"

"If you're not…THEN GET YOUR HAND OFF OF MY ASS!"

Sasuke flinched, he hadn't been watching where he put his hands.

With the blond struggling the way he did, it was hard enough to get a grip on him.

'Could he get us into an even more embarrassing situation!'

Children were giggling, girls were glaring, guys were trying to look under Naruto's kimono…

Wait a sec.

Sasuke instinctively pulled said kimono down a bit…

The thing had been riding up, revealing even more of the long limbs.

The struggling made it even worse…

Sasuke wasn't one to complain though, not at all…

"If you're going to keep on moving around like that, you're going to give the whole village quite a view."

'And I get a front row seat..'

He softly patted Naruto's behind to make sure he got the message.

The blonds fist stopped pounding against his back and the rather hypnotizing set of legs stopped kicking.

Sasuke smirked.

'That ought to shut him up for a while…'

-------------------

Sasuke returned to the luxurious house he called home with a pouting blond on his shoulder.

Said blond had yet to make another comment on their current state.

Until not that is…

"Itai! Watch the head bastard!"

Apparently he hadn't been counting on how far Naruto's head was sticking out and accidentally caused the young man to have a rather painful run-in with one of the sliding doors.

"You could at least say you're sorry!"

Sasuke completely ignored him, even though it really was his fault.

He just didn't want Naruto to think he cared one bit about him.

He didn't…

Really…

"What is WITH you! One minute you're semi-friendly the next you're being a cold asshole! Was it something I did?"

Sasuke sighed and made a move to put Naruto down.

A voice stopped him in his trail however…

"Do you care to explain this Sasuke?"

The brunette looked up into the furious eyes of his father.

"Explain what…"

He exclaimed agitatedly.

Sasuke knew exactly what his father was talking about, his hand was on Naruto's ass, the other had joined it's partner to help the blond down.

It probably looked pretty bad.

He seemed to have a knack for getting into awkward situations with the blue eyed young man.

"I've been hearing some rather interesting rumours about you."

'When, you're never home…'

Sasuke wisely kept his thoughts to himself, he didn't want to anger him any farther.

Not while he was _this_ angry…

"I thought we were under the agreement that you would be married pretty soon."

'I never agreed on anything…'

"You have no time to fool around with some random no good drifter, you should be looking for a wife."

'Wait a second…no good drifter!'

He felt Naruto's grip on his kimono tighten, he knew the blond was probably trying to keep his rather fiery temper in check, Sasuke saved him the trouble of having to say anything…

"Do we understand each other?"

"Actually, no we don't. I know very well what is expected of me, you constantly reminded me of it since Itachi left. I don't need you to remind me, I don't appreciate you calling my friend a no good drifter either."

Sasuke glared back at his father venomously.

"If I decide to take on a lover, I will. I'm officially old enough to decide such matters for myself!"

Naruto's grip tightened again, this time not to restrain himself…

Sasuke's father was so angry, the room seemed to grow several degrees colder.

The man was one to be feared…

Sasuke shifted Naruto in his arms, he walked passed his father now carrying Naruto bridal style.

When he passed by his father, the man grabbed his shoulder, grip strong enough to bruise.

The brunette could see the anger behind the dark eyes he and his father shared.

'Not in front of Naruto…'

He shrugged the hand of and walked on, luckily his father decided to let go and to not press the subject any further…not yet at least.

The young Uchiha carried the blond all the way to his room.

He carefully set Naruto down and walked towards a pile of clothes.

Sasuke started to take of his kimono, flinching at the place his father had grabbed him.

A sharp intake of breath caught his attention.

He turned around to see Naruto walk towards him, blue eyes focussed on the newly forming bruise.

"I'm sorry…"

The voice was soft and hesitant.

Not at all like the Naruto he had come to know in such a short amount of time.

A soft hand gently touched the bruise, as if to check if it was real.

"I'm really sorry…"

"Idiot."

Naruto's blue gems rose up to lock onto his gaze.

"What are you apologizing for, you've done nothing wrong. He's always like that…if anything, he should be the one to apologize. He shouldn't have said those things…"

The blue orbs widened.

It was that look.

The same one his childhood crush had, only so much stronger…

"Sasuke…you…nobody's ever…"

The soft hand was still on his exposed shoulder, the whiskered face however, didn't remain in place. It was getting closer…or was it his own?

Sasuke didn't know…or cared.

They were both caught up in the moment.

That was all it was right?

They were only getting carried away…

It could happen to anyone, with anyone.

Right?

Sasuke didn't care about him.

Not about the blue eyes that were slowly closing,

not about the warm breath on his lips.

He…didn't…care…

But if he didn't…?

Then why did this seem so right?

He hadn't even noticed his own eyes slowly closing.

Or rather he didn't want to notice…

If he noticed he would have to stop himself from doing this, he couldn't allow himself to care.

Soft lips pressed against his own for the second time this day.

Things were going so fast…

He had only met him this morning, he knew practically nothing about him.

The pair of lips met again, this time a little more boldly.

It was soft, gentle, loving…

Sasuke's tongue hesitantly touched Naruto's lips, as if shyly asking for entrance.

Naruto wrapped his arms around his neck slowly, his own came to rest on Naruto's hips.

Just a little more…just a bit more and he would pull back.

The soft lips granted access, he let his tongue slip into Naruto's mouth and gently explored the blonds mouth.

A tongue shyly touched his own, one of his hands travelled up Naruto's back and tangled itself in the messy golden locks.

"Oh my!"

The two pulled back as if burned.

A shocked expression on both their faces, his mother was standing in the door opening.

She was blushing like crazy…and sporting several more bruises.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on the two of you…"

Naruto looked as red as a tomato, Sasuke knew he probably looked just as red.

"I guess I should move another futon here rather then fix up a room for yourself."

His mother was gone before he could protest.

This would be one awkward night…

TBC!


	8. Chapter 8

Yes people, I'm on time for once X-x

I haven't had the time to put this up yet since a rather morbid situation caused our internet connection to die on us for quite some time 

Some notes on this chapter, I added the rather famous Yuki-Onna fairytale in this story.

It's the direct translation of the original work and therefore isn't mine. It was copied directly since I didn't want to change anything in it 

Those that want to know more about yuki onna and perhaps download the song I'll be referring to can check out wwwDOTyoukaimuraDOTorg.

It's a great website that has lots of information on demons, even kyuubi and the other tailed demons.

Now onwards to the ficcage!

Chapter 8 Of Stalkers and Festivals

-----------------

Naruto POV

Sasuke's mother Sen made quick work of putting down an extra futon.

Naruto didn't complain since he was way to embarrassed about what had just happened, Sasuke was probably in the same situation.

'I did NOT just kiss that guy.'

He really could smack himself.

'One minute he's being a jerk and the next he has his tongue down my throat!'

His eyebrow had started to twitch about five minutes earlier and seemed to refuse to stop.

'Worst of all, he's a perverted samurai!'

He was so not going to write this in his mission report…

Tsunade would never let him hear the end of it.

Not to mention he would be the laughing stock of the town.

Like he would give the townspeople more to talk about, it would only be harder to be acknowledged as a great shinobi and future hokage.

Sasuke was the first though…

The first to EVER stand up for him.

'That's because he doesn't know what you are.'

Naruto grimaced, that really wasn't a subject he wanted to dwell on.

'It's WAY too quiet here!'

The two of them hadn't spoken a word since they were 'caught' so to speak.

He was never one to handle things being quiet for too long, he had had way to much of that as a kid.

That and he had the attention span of a rodent…

Not that he would admit it to anyone, but still, he had gotten hollered at for not paying attention in class since the first day of training at the academy.

It wasn't as if it was his fault classes were so boring!

Besides it wasn't as if he was the only one slacking off, his not-really-friends did it too.

They just didn't get in trouble as much because they were normal kids.

Or rather more normal then Naruto…

They were actually kind of weird when you think of it.

The two young men settled in on their futons.

The kimonos they had worn neatly placed over the blanket.

A few more minutes of total silence passed, until Naruto truly couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"About your mom…did your dad? You know…hit her?"

"Hn."

"Why? She didn't do anything wrong."

"She set an extra plate again and he needed to vent…"

"And that's reason enough to hit her!"

"Apparently…"

"Your dad's kind of a jerk…"

"Hn."

"Why does she set an extra plate? I mean, if she's gonna get hit for it and all…"

"It's a habit."

"I kinda figured that out...But who does she set it for?"

"Can we not talk about this!"

"Sheez! You don't have to get so touchy all of a sudden! I was just asking!"

"Hn…"

Things grew quiet again for quite some time.

Naruto couldn't think of anything to say in order to coax the brunette into a conversation.

He never really had friends before…

Is that even what they were? Friends?

"My brother…"

"Huh?"

"The plate is for my brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, an older brother, his name is Itachi."

"Where is he?"

"Somewhere…"

"You mean he ran away from home or something?"

"……sort of."

"Is he a rurouni like me?"

"Yes, something like that…"

"Must be really great to have an older brother."

"Not really…"

Sasuke really didn't seem to like the subject much, even though he was trying to act tough.

Naruto figured he shouldn't ask anything more about the subject of brothers…

"I really wouldn't know."

"What do you mean you wouldn't---Oh."

"Yep. I've been an orphan since the day I was born."

Naruto replied cheerfully.

"How can you be so cheerful about it? Don't you miss having a family?"

"Not really. Sometimes I guess, you know, during holidays and stuff. But you can't really miss what you never had right?"

"……Isn't it lonely?"

Naruto's eyes widened a little, he really didn't get this guy.

One minute he's trying to shut him out, now he's asking personal questions…

"Kinda…but…I don't know. I just try not to think about it that much. I was more or less raised by two wonderful people, well, more like they keep on eye on me every once in a while. So I'm not completely alone I guess…"

"Then why aren't you with them?"

"One of them is away for work, he has been for several years. The other one is waiting for him every day, I guess I want to do him a favour for looking out for me all those years and try and find his lover."

"They're both men?"

"Yeah. I don't really care about things like that. As long as you're happy right?"

"I guess…"

"Is your father serious?"

The brunette who had been looking to the ceiling the whole time, turned towards Naruto, a questioning look on his face.

"About what?"

"About you having to marry a girl pretty soon?"

"Hn…"

"Why? You're still kind of young right? You have all the time in the world."

"The life of a warrior isn't an easy one, you can get killed any day.

My parents want to see grandchildren before I go of to battle.

Mother hasn't been able to have any more children since father….

When my brother left, he also left behind those responsibilities and since mother isn't capable of having any more children, I need to be the one to carry on our bloodline."

Naruto frowned, this really was too much of a burden on such a young man.

That had been hammered into his mind since he was a kid?

What a life he must have had…

"Haven't you ever thought about just going away yourself? To head out and live your own life, or to try and find your brother or something?"

"All the time…but I can't…This is what I was born for, a back up plan if something ever happened to my brother. It's my fate I guess."

"That's bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"Fate and destiny aren't things that should control your life.

People should always make their own destiny, fight for what they want in life.

You shouldn't let your father control your life like that, if you want to leave, get up and leave, there's no sense in sticking around somewhere you don't want to be…"

Sasuke turned to look at the ceiling again, Naruto wasn't sure if the dark haired samurai was thinking over what he had said or if he simply didn't want to answer…

Naruto started to fall asleep.

The futon was warm and comfortable, the rather hectic day was starting to catch up.

He closed his eyes and let sleep take over…

He'd send a report to the old hag tomorrow.

-----------------

The warm sunlight was shining directly into his eyes the second he opened them.

Naruto flinched and closed them.

'Great, now I'm seeing spots…'

The blond turned around, rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up without the sun practically blinding him.

Sasuke was still asleep, Naruto studied the calm and serene expression on his face.

His mouth was slightly open, breathing softly.

One hand was resting beside his head, the other was on his stomach.

The brunette's legs were spread all across the futon.

He looked so much like a child, not a care in the world…

That is, until he would wake up though.

The young shinobi sighed, if only he could help him somehow.

He normally never felt like this, he wasn't one to get attached so easily.

Attachment meant it would hurt even more when people finally showed their true colours and abandoned you.

Sasuke didn't seem like the type to do that though.

He had to admit, even though he was cold and acted like a total bastard every once in a while, he really was a nice guy, if you looked deep enough that is.

'Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all. It's too bad I can't take him home with me…'

He could see it now, walking up to Tsunade with Sasuke in his arms, asking 'Can I keep him?'

She'd knock him right into the hospital if he did that.

The sound of firework going of startled Naruto out of his thoughts.

It woke Sasuke up as well, more or less…

Tired dark eyes opened slightly, the owner of the eyes also made the same mistake of looking towards the direction of the sunlight.

Said owner groaned and did something rather unexpected…

He snuggled right into Naruto's side, taking the blanket with him.

Naruto was shocked to say the least when a pale arm moved across his chest and a leg managed to somehow find it's way between his own.

Sasuke…was a snuggler? (AN: That's SO not a word XD)

Naruto felt like a child's teddy bear…

"Oi! Sasuke! I'm not some stuffed animal, let go!"

A murmur that sounded strangely a lot like "Comfy" was the only response he got.

The blue eyed boy had to admit it was kind of endearing, but it really wasn't situation he wanted to get caught in. Not after the events of yesterday…

"Come on! Leggo!"

He poked forehead of the dreaded snuggler, earning him a from and a tighter grip.

This was useless!

Naruto was about to make a move to shove Sasuke off of him, when a strange giggle caught his attention.

It was creeping him out…

He bravely looked towards the direction of the blinding morning sun.

A group of what Naruto figured to be young women were peeking through the wooden fence, several pairs of eyes focussed on the shocked blond and raven haired snuggler.

'Not those women again!'

A particular loud giggle and the flash of what was most likely a camera caused Sasuke to snap to attention right away though.

It was almost as if the guy had an inner 'fangirl-alarm' or something.

He immediately looked towards the window as well…

'Are all the women in this village crazy?'

Sasuke grabbed his kimono and put in on in a hurry, telling Naruto to do the same.

Several more flashes later, the two were fully dressed and ready to go.

'If he has to live through this every morning, I can't blame him from being a bit weird…

Is this why his brother left?'

"Does this happen every morning?"

"More or less…"

"Why were they taking pictures?"

"Who knows, you want to go out and ask them?"

Naruto mulled over it for a moment but decided not to, they were creepy enough from a distance, he wouldn't want to meet them up close…

Fangirls are SUCH strange creatures…

A rather cheerful 'Ohayou!' greeted the two young men when they walked towards the kitchen, Sen was already up and about.

True, it was kind of late, but by the look of those bento-boxes on the table, she had been up REALLY early to get them ready.

She grabbed the boxes and put them in a rather large basket.

Sasuke walked inside to ask what exactly she was doing, but he wasn't even capable of uttering a single word…

His mother seemed to be overly cheerful today.

"I fixed you boys some lunch, I added a blanket so you can make it a nice picnic if you want to."

She grabbed the basket and walked up to Sasuke, she pushed it into his arms and pushed him out of the kitchen.

Naruto stepped aside to let Sasuke pass through.

"Now stay out of the kitchen, I'm helping Kaede-sama prepare tonight's feast. Enjoy!"

She winked at Naruto before disappearing into the kitchen, the blond yanked on Sasuke's sleeve.

"What in the world was that about?"

Sasuke merely shrugged and walked towards the exit.

"It's better not to ask…"

Naruto ran up to the brunette and walked beside him, it really was a beautiful day.

The sun was warm, the birds were singing and the people were cheerful.

Women of all ages seemed to be wearing their most expensive kimono's, some even more colourful then the flowers themselves and each a pattern of their own.

It was impossible to mistake one for the other.

The men were neatly shaved and groomed, regal kimono's adorned with symbols of their respective houses shimmered in the sun.

The streets were filled with people, children raced from one game-booth to another.

Naruto was pleased to see a lot of the same games they had back home.

The traditional 'fish catching' booth, food stands, and the good old puppet theatre.

He pulled and Sasuke's arm and dragged him to the knife throwing booth.

Since this was a village event and outsiders rarely came here, everything was free.

It was almost as if it was one huge family…

Back in Konoha everything cost money, people mostly stuck to their clans and only spoke to others who belonged to clans as well.

Naruto was never allowed to join in on games though…

He was going to have fun today though.

'No thinking about home or those nasty arrogant clan jerks.'

Naruto finally got his turn, he had practically been throwing kunai since he was a toddler, he was going to show them how good he was!

"Do you even know how to throw a knife? It's not like anyone can just---"

Each of the knives hit the bull's-eye.

"Yatta! Sasuke! Did you see that!"

People were staring wide eyed at the young blond, Sasuke was no exception.

"H-how did you…? You hit all of them!"

'What's so special about it! Look at the size of those targets! I mean----oops…'

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Talk about luck huh?"

Sasuke smiled back at the blond nervously.

"Yeah…lucky…"

A group of little children jumped Naruto.

"Mister! Mister! You're so cool!"

"Could you teach me how to throw like that!"

"You might even be better then those shinobi people!"

The adults expressions of shock were replaced by gentle smiles as they looked at the spectacle, the young shinobi didn't know how to handle so many kids at once.

He wasn't used to dealing with kids at all.

Most parents dragged their kids of the minute they saw him walk in the same street as them, they were afraid he would be a bad influence or something…

He felt Sasuke grab his arm and pull his from the little midget army.

Naruto got his prize from the owner of the booth, a huge bag of candy.

The blond wisely decided to create a diversion by giving the candy to the evil midget folk.

"You have quite an arm there! Where did you learn how to throw like that?"

"I didn't. I guess I picked up a thing or two back in that 'you-know-what' village."

Sasuke nodded, talking about a shinobi village would simply create mass-hysteria..

"They must be great warriors to be able to throw like that…"

"They're even better."

"Even better……?"

The blond nodded his head, it technically was the truth. Naruto never really was good at throwing kunai, he knew enough though, so he didn't feel the need to practice.

"Yup. Now come on! I wanna see the puppet show!"

Sasuke was dragged off once again, this time to the puppet show.

The puppets were absolutely gorgeous! They were placed on a rack where they were displayed for all to see.

They were extremely detailed and adorned with all sorts of golden trinkets, there were all sorts of puppets.

Beautiful maidens, noble samurai, little children, even shinobi ones!

The tiny clothes seemed to be made of fine brightly coloured silk, the makers definitely spared no expense into creating them.

Naruto sat down on one of the make-shift benches, for a simple carved tree-trunk it was actually rather comfortable.

The brunette sat down beside him, a bored expression on his face.

He had undoubtedly seen this before, since he grew up here and all.

Not to mention, most of their fellow viewers were little kids.

Naruto made a mental note to thank Sasuke for keeping him company though, Naruto already knew, sappy as it sound, that he would treasure this memory forever.

The first festival where he actually got to enjoy himself, with company no less.

He would miss this place when he had to go home…wait a minute.

Miss this place?

This was samurai territory!

The same people that were butchering his own!

No matter if it was this particular village or not, samurai were samurai!

If they knew who he really was, they would kill him on the spot!

There's no way they'd let him stay here…

Besides, he couldn't.

If the samurai didn't finish him off, Tsunade most likely would…or order someone else to do it…

'Lazy old hag…'

The show was awesome!

Two samurai dolls were duelling over the affections of a beautiful princess.

The lady watched from behind, her tiny face hidden by the long sleeves of her royal red kimono.

The battle came to a spectacular climax, as the evil one made a move to kill the fallen hero.

The lady jumped in between of the two fighting warriors, protecting her lover from the fatal blow and using a dagger to end the villains life but ultimately dieing herself.

Her lover was left alone in the world.

A lone sakura tree grew in the place where the princess had fallen.

The hero returned here every single day, until the day he died.

Several of the children and their parents were crying.

Naruto simply shrugged, he had seen things far worse then this.

The lady had been rather foolish. She should have grown strong herself, that was she wouldn't have gotten abducted, or at least would have been able to escape.

She could have at least kept out of the fight, it wasn't certain the man would have died.

The way she died was pointless…

It was useless to die for each other unless it had a good reason, emotions should be kept our of battles. It was what he was trained for…

Another show was starting, several samurai "walked" on stage.

The children cheered happily at the sight of their "heroes" and gasped at the beautiful robes of the lords and ladies.

The story was a lot more interesting then the previous one.

A samurai village was under attack from a group of mononoke, so of course the brave group of warriors set out to protect their friends and loved ones.

Naruto couldn't wait to see the mononoke puppets!

They hadn't been on display, so he was getting curious as to how they looked.

The warriors entered a forest, the one where the mononoke were supposed to live and they were attacked from the shadows….by the shinobi dolls.

Naruto flinched as the samurai cut through the ninja clan as if they were nothing but animals.

All round him the children were cheering them on, huge smiles on their faces, screaming out for the samurai dolls to finish the monsters off.

Was that really how samurai saw the shinobi? As monsters?

Was it because of the current situation?

Or had it always been like this…

The children cheered as all the "monsters" were defeated and now lay "dead" before the feet of the samurai. Naruto tried to hide the sad look on his face.

Shinobi weren't monsters!

Suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

The blond smiled at Sasuke, shinobi and samurai _could_ get along.

He and Sasuke were proof.

"I'm fine! I wanna see more of the festival!"

It was kind of funny, the day before the brunet had seemed reluctant to "date" him.

If his foster-parents could see him now.

Iruka would probably cry about how his baby-boy had grown up all of a sudden….and undoubtedly blame Kakashi for it…heh.

He kind of missed them, oh well, he would see them again soon enough.

Sasuke and Naruto got up, the young Uchiha already put out his arm to be dragged of.

Apparently he was a quick learner.

---------------

Next up was the 'anything goes-foot race'.

Of course, Naruto wanted to enter and where would it leave Sasuke not to respond to Naruto's challenge.

So as expected, the two young men were currently lined up with several of the other villagers ready to start the race as soon as the judge said…

"GO!"

Sasuke and Naruto quickly left everyone in the dust, earning quite a few shocked looks from the bystanders. Naruto glared at Sasuke's back, he had slowed down considerately after a while, since he didn't want to make a scene like before.

But the young samurai turned out to be faster then he had originally thought, a lot faster…

Since the two were pretty much equal in speed, Naruto had a rough time catching up to the brunet. The finish line was getting closer with every step.

Sasuke was still in the lead…and made it a point to rub it in with a smirk on his face, angering the struggling Naruto.

"What's wrong? Can't keep up?"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke was seriously breaking his concentration, if he got distracted now there was no way he could win.

"Are you getting tired? You run like a girl."

"AAAAAARGHHH! You bastard!"

He was ready to strangle him!

'I just KNOW he's doing it on purpose!'

And it worked too, rather then to keep his eyes on the ground or the finish line, he kept glaring at Sasuke…eventually tripping on one of the tree roots that were sticking out.

This short time of being on the ground was enough for Sasuke to finish…and the other runners to pass him and finish as well.

Sasuke walked back to where the blond had fallen.

"Aren't you going to finish?…….Dobe?"

(AN: Roughly translated; dead last Yeah…I couldn't resist )

"That was your fault! You broke my concentration on purpose!"

"You should have watched where you were going rather then to watch me."

Naruto blushed at that comment, he was pretty sure he didn't mean it like that…but still.

He vowed he was going to make Sasuke pay for this…

---------------

The day went by pretty fast, after several games, some delicious food – although not as good as ramen – and a lot of shows later, it was now time for the children to go to bed and the adults to have some fun of their own.

Musicians were playing several of their most beautiful melodies on their instruments.

There were all kinds of instruments, a koto, a shamisen, even a shakuhachi.

Most of the songs were unknown to Naruto, there was one however that stood out of them all.

"You like it?"

The blond nodded, he liked it a lot.

"It's the song of the yuki onna."

"Yuki onna?"

"It's a rather famous story around here, a fairytale you might say. She is supposed to be a youkai (AN; demon) who has the capability to freeze humans."

"A youkai that freezes people?"

"Hn."

"Could you tell me the story?"

Sasuke looked rather annoyed at the idea of having to tell a fairytale and sighed deeply.

"Come on! Tell me!"

"Fine…"

Naruto grinned triumphantly.

"A long time ago in a cold northern country, there lived a lumberjack father and son. One winter day, while they were gathering wood a snow storm began. They rushed back to their cabin to wait the storm out. But the storm continued and the two fell asleep by the warm fireplace. It was so cold, the son woke up. Outside the wind howled and the snow fell hard. Suddenly the door of the cabin flew away in the wind. Snow blew into the cabin and the warm fire went out.

Just then, a beautiful woman with a pure white kimono and seemingly transparent skin came into the cabin with the snow. She went to the father and breathed frosty air on him. He became white as snow and appeared as ice and breathed no more.

The son said, "It's the yuki onna!" He remembered the story of a fearsome woman who comes with the snow to take away the life of people in the night. Having just seen his father killed, the son's body started to shake. Although he wanted to run, his body couldn't move.

The yuki onna moved ever closer to the son while blowing white air from her mouth. She stopped just in front of him and said, "You have received my favour. I will let you live tonight since you are so young. However you must never tell anyone of what happened tonight." And she disappeared into the night and snow. He fainted. The next morning, the boy awoke to find his father's body and wondered if he really did see the yuki onna. He never spoke to anyone about the matter though.

A year passed and the snow again began to fall. One night the young man heard a tapping on the door and he opened to see what it was. It was a woman. She said, "I'm caught in the snow. Is there anyway I could stay here tonight?" The young man was nice enough to let her stay and eat with him. She said her name was Oyuki. They talked and talked. As time passed by they grew to like each other and were married. A few years later they had a child. 

In the north country another harsh winter came. One of those winter nights the young man looked at the side of Oyuki's face while she was sewing and said, "You know, you remind me of a woman I saw a long time ago. You look just like her." She immediately stopped her sewing and asked, "Where did you see this woman?" He answered, "Just before my 20th birthday there was a snow storm and she came to this cabin. It was the yuki onna!"

Oyuki sadly said, "The yuki onna must have told you sternly not to speak of this. Why do you say this?" He replied, "How do you know this, Oyuki?" She slowly stood up and her kimono and face became freezing white. "It was you... It was you..." "That is right. Why did you say that? Now I cannot live with you." He said, "Forgive me, Oyuki!" But she only said, "I will never forget you. Somehow take care of our child. Fare well!" Just then the door flew open and Oyuki disappeared in the snow. The young man searched for her, but couldn't find a trace."

When Sasuke finished Naruto was staring at him wide eyed.

'He really knows how to tell a story…'

The brunet quickly got annoyed with the staring though.

"What?"

"Who knew that a none talkative bastard like you would be good with words…"

"Whatever…"

The young samurai had one of those voices that - while reading to someone - demanded attention and could easily keep you entertained for the duration of the story.

His future kids would be really lucky to listen to stories from him…

Sasuke would probably make a great father some day.

After a while he noticed the people were leaving the dance floor.

The fireworks display was going to start soon, they all wanted a good spot to see it.

"Let's go dobe."

"Stop calling me that! The only reason I was last is because you distracted me!"

"Hn. Fine, then how about a rematch some day."

"You're on!" Naruto said with a grin on his face.

Maybe he'd let Sasuke's prank slip and forget about revenge….just this once.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you so much for the reviews!

Here's another set of chapters to keep you guys entertained until I finish up on the latest one.

I started internship a week ago and it's SERIOUSLY cutting into my social/artistic (or lack there of 3) life.

I go to my 'place of work' about 3 days a week, from about 9 to 5 Xx

(As for a side story, I had a woman on the phone today with a last name that made me giggle 0-0 Butt….yes seriously it wasn't a joke…I've heard of bad cases of terrible last names before but butt?)

That's not even with the travel time included . 

Then I have school to go to and yep you guessed it…homework…it's Satan spawn I tell you! . 

To TwlightDreams:

Yes actually, I do of remember, you have a 'username' that's very similar to a friends XD

And this version isn't that different, minus fixing some errors. (or at least not yet 3)

And you saved my story? squeals and feels all honoured X3

I used to do the same thing to stories I read…till my poor computer died --

But, my new computer has about 150 gigs compared to the 4 gigs the old one had . 

Enough chatting X3

Disclaimer; don't own.

Chapter 9 Of Fireworks and Discoveries

Naruto POV

The two boys had settled down on a rooftop, they were the only ones while the villagers were all struggling for a place near the stage where the fireworks were going to be lit.

It turned out to be quite handy to have someone with you who knew the village by head.

Apparently Sasuke had been quite the prankster when he was little as well.

What had happened to make him stop?

Naruto hadn't even given up on pranks even after he graduated, the recent 'redecorations' to Tsunade's office had been proof of that.

Which explained why he had been sent away on a long term mission…

That way she had plenty of time to get rid of the urge to strangle Naruto on sight.

BANG!

The fireworks were starting!

Gorgeous colours graced the clear dark sky, several shades of red, blue, green and yellow lit up the faces of the two young warriors and that of the villagers.

Young couples were holding hands under the trees, romantically cuddling up against each other, whispering loving words in one another's ears.

Naruto was going to throw up…

It was just _too_ lovey-dovey…

Sasuke seemed to share the opinion with that disgusted look on his face.

Conversations that consisted of 'I love you, I love you more' was just overdoing it.

They looked at each other and Naruto broke out laughing, whereas Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow.

"It's not funny. It's just disgusting."

"You're right. It's not funny, it's hilarious! They look ridiculous! Can you believe that guy?"

"……Hn."

"If I ever act like that, put me out of my misery and kill me."

"Will do."

"You didn't have to sound so cheerful about that…"

"Hn."

"Don't start that with me again!"

"Whatever…dobe."

"Just you wait till the rematch you bastard! We'll see who's dead-last then!"

"Hn."

"………Jerk."

------------------

? POV

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"No no, I love _you_ more!"

"JACKASS!"

"Usuratonkachi!"

The sudden screams caused the young 'lovey-dovey' couple to snap out of their romantic daze. The pair of eyes looked towards a rooftop where two young men were arguing.

The girl smiled at her lover and giggled knowingly.

"They must be having a lovers spat."

The young man nodded and turned to his girlfriend.

"Love, if I ever turn out like that, put me out of my misery and kill me."

The young woman giggled again.

"Sure love, whatever you say."

"You didn't have to be so cheerful about it."

The man faked a pout and hurt look, his girlfriend smiled and kissed him.

"You know I didn't mean it like that sweetie. I love you."

"And I love you too."

--------------

Naruto POV

Several minutes of arguing later, the two finally settled down and laid down on the rooftop.

Mainly because 'Naruto wasn't talking to Sasuke' again, it probably wouldn't last long.

A sudden sense of danger alerted Naruto, there was something there…

He sat up and looked around.

He couldn't exactly pin point where it was coming from…

"What's wrong moron?"

Naruto didn't respond, he needed to know what it was. Something just wasn't right.

It seemed so familiar, yet different…

There!

Naruto pushed Sasuke down and looked at the rooftop three houses away.

No wonder it felt so familiar!

It was chakra!

There was a shinobi there!

The man was dressed in all black, even his face, was painted black.

Clearly he was spying as well.

He felt Sasuke make a move to dislodge Naruto's arm from his back but stiffened moments later as he saw what had caused Naruto to act so serious all of a sudden.

"That's one of _them_!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we need to warn the elder!"

The strange shinobi was wearing an unknown hitai-ate.

The symbol was one he had never seen before…

Was the man alone or where there more of them?

Were they planning an attack or was it just a scouting mission?

Were they the ones that were giving shinobi like himself a bad reputation?

Naruto needed answers…

He just hoped Sasuke trusted him enough not to rat on him.

Naruto pulled Sasuke down as he noticed the man look in their direction.

He wouldn't be able to see them from this angle, or at least he hoped not…

"Sasuke, stay here."

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me! Stay put!"

The blond pulled out a kunai he had kept with him.

He knew he was risking everything, but that man should be able to tell him what was going on.

Naruto silently made his way down the roof, genjutsu would do the rest…

He wasn't good at it, but he wouldn't have to put it up for long, just long enough to get to that ninja…

He made it to the house where the man was perched.

Naruto dropped the genjutsu, he wouldn't need it now.

Blue eyes sparkled with excitement. He lived for this kind of stuff!

Naruto made it to the roof top and pressed his kunai against the mans throat in the blink of an eye.

The unknown shinobi reached for Naruto's arm, but a little added pressure and a small wound to the throat shut him up nicely. The two climbed down the roof and Naruto pushed him against the side of the house.

Nobody would see them here.

Except for Sasuke, who was rushing in their direction.

"Who are you and what village are you from?"

The man simply glared at him and kept silent, Naruto let his anger get the best of him and removed the kunai, replacing it with his hand.

The kunai moved down to the mans crotch…

"Either you start talking or you'll lose the part that makes you a man!"

That certainly loosened some lips…cruel yet effective.

"I'll tell you everything! Just don't cut them off!"

Luckily the man was a coward…

"Then talk!"

"I'm from hidden sound!"

"Hidden sound? I've never heard of them before!"

"I-it was recently created!"

"By who!"

"I don't know!"

Naruto added some pressure, so the man got his 'point'.

"I really don't know! He never shows his face! We only get orders!"

Sasuke looked at the scene with a shocked look on his face, Naruto looked at him, then back at the sound nin.

"What were you doing here!"

"I can't tell you! He'll kill me!"

The blond haired shinobi glared at him.

"I'll do a lot worse then just kill you if you don't start talking!"

"I-I was sent to scout ahead for the upcoming mission!"

"So you guys really are behind it…Do you have anything to do with the attacks on the shinobi villages!"

"I-I'm not sure! I'm only a genin!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Only a genin? No wonder he was caught so easily…

A hand grabbed onto his shoulder rather painfully, he made sure the sound nin couldn't get away before turning.

"Naruto, what the _hell_ is going on!"

"This is one of the guys that's responsible for what's happening!"

He pointed at the cowering genin.

Sasuke glared at the two of them, Naruto could only hope he was willing to wait for answers…

"What is the mission."

"T-the orders a-are to destroy this village…Why are you doing this anyways!

You're a shinobi as well aren't you! Why are you making friends with those samurai!"

"Shut up! Unless you want to get us both killed!"

He turned to Sasuke, this was going to be suicide….but he needed to do this.

"Get that Jiraiya guy."

---------------

Sasuke POV

What the HELL was going on!

One minute Naruto was arguing with him, the next he's forcing answers from a shinobi!

He should have known.

The blond was to strange to be an ordinary rurouni, the way he threw those knives, the way he defended them.

He shouldn't have let him get close, he was betrayed _again_!

Naruto had been lying the whole time!

If Naruto was even his name…

All this time he had pretended to be someone he was not.

He had been toying with him!

"Sasuke. Please…I promise I'll explain later, just go!"

"You had better…"

He turned around walked to where he knew he could find the old pervert.

Should he tell Jiraiya Naruto was a shinobi?

The blond would be killed on the spot…

Not that he cared. The idiot had been lying to him the whole time…

Who was he kidding, he had been the idiot…

He barely knew him, yet he let him get close enough to actually hurt him.

This was exactly why he didn't care about useless things like love and affection.

His brother would probably be laughing at how pathetic he was…

But since he wasn't here, his father would gladly do the honours.

He had been falling in love, it happened to fast to put a halt to it. He should be happy it was going to end here…

The brunet walked to the clearing where the people had been partying, blissfully unaware of the recent turn of events.

And there was Jiraiya, surrounded by several of the most beautiful girls in the entire village.

Normally he would have rolled his eyes and turned away in disgust, but this was not the time.

"Elder. May I have a word with you?"

"Ah. Sasuke, what's with the look? And where's the pretty blond? Naruto was it?"

Sasuke flinched at the name.

"An enemy shinobi has entered the village, Naruto is keeping him…occupied."

Jiraiya immediately looked serious and stood up.

"Where?"

It was not a question, it was an order...

The elder and several of his men followed him back to where Naruto had pinned down the black clad man.

Only to find that the man had been miraculously tied up with a clothes line and a smirking Naruto was sitting on the whimpering bundle.

"What took you so long?"

Sasuke refused to look the blond in the eyes.

He was going to die anyways…

"Put them both in holding cells until further notice. I'll decide their fate tomorrow. Search for other shinobi's."

The brunet watched on, his face void from any emotion, inside however, was a whole nother story…He needed to talk to Naruto…before it was too late.

He walked towards his home, he remembered Naruto bringing a bag with him. Perhaps he would find some of the answers he was looking for in there…

Where had he last seen the bag?

The first place he had to check was his room.

………

Which is where he found it, sitting in a corner.

A brown inconspicuous looking bag, he had forgotten all about it..

Sasuke opened the bag and spread out Naruto's belongings.

He kind of felt like he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but if Jiraiya would have his stuff looked through anyways.

Inside was a pair of orange clothes only a blind person would wear, a strange piece of cloth with a metal plate on it, weapons that were typically used by shinobi.

A set of scrolls which didn't make any sense to Sasuke, some money and a picture…

Two men and a younger looking Naruto dressed in his bright orange outfit which looked surprisingly good on him.

He had to suppress a smile at the sight.

A silver haired man had his arm wrapped around a brown haired man with a scar on his face.

The hand had travelled a tad bit lower then people normally would let it go and the brow haired man looked rather embarrassed about it.

Naruto was standing next to the brown haired man, a huge grin on his face.

He kind of reminded Sasuke of a fox when he looked like that…

They actually looked like a happy little family, a twisted one, but happy nonetheless.

He looked at the scrolls, they were either in code or Naruto's handwriting was just plain bad.

He didn't understand what they were about at all.

The raven haired Uchiha grabbed the cloth with the plate, he had seen the other shinobi wear something similar, only with a different symbol on it.

Come to think of it….he had never seen this symbol before.

He decided he would ask Naruto about it…

-------------

Naruto POV

The holding cells were dank and looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years.

It wasn't exactly a pleasant place to be, but then again…that was what it was meant for.

As soon as the guard left him alone, after taking the sound genin for questioning, Naruto grabbed a piece of paper from his – or rather Sasuke's – kimono. He needed to write out his report before he was killed or something. At least the mission wouldn't be a complete failure, he would try to escape afterwards.

After he finished, leaving out the getting caught part, he used the proper hand seals and created a bunshin.

The bunshin in turn used a henge to turn itself into a bird, the transformed bunshin would take it to Tsunade, like he had originally planned.

The blond watched the yellow feathered, blue eyed bird fly off towards his home.

He could only hope it would arrive safely…

He heard to door to the holding cells creaking.

Someone was coming in, most likely Jiraiya or one of his men with questions again.

Heh…like he was going to say anything.

Genins from Konoha were a lot tougher then those weird sound nins!

Naruto walked to the bars, determined to give out a stubborn glare to whoever walked in…

Only to discover it was Sasuke…damn.

He watched the samurai pull out a chair from under the guards desk and put it in front of the cell, he sat down calmly and shot Naruto a glare that seemed to scream 'start talking'.

Naruto shivered a little.

'Those Uchiha's should patent that look…'

Blue eyes stayed focussed on a suddenly rather interested speck of dust on the floor…It didn't work…

He could practically feel Sasuke's glare burn a hole through his head.

"I guess I have some explaining to do…"

No answer, not even that annoying 'hn', he would give anything for a 'hn' right about now.

Sarcastic wasn't it…

How he wouldn't talk to any of the guards, not even if they ripped out his tongue, but he couldn't lie to Sasuke.

This is the perfect example of why shinobi were to be emotionless during missions…

Naruto sighed, how in the world did he manage to get involved in all of this, he seemed to have a knack for getting into awkward situations around Sasuke.

"I was sent here to investigate who was attacking our villages and our people. You could call it scouting for information…"

Still nothing…

"I didn't mean to hurt you…"

He shyly looked up to the dark eyes, he had expected a heated glare, or a look of disgust, not a hurt look. Sasuke didn't seem like the type to get emotional…

(AN; You tell me Naru-chan, this is getting SOOOOOO sappy )

"Hn. Like I care."

"I'm starting to think that 'Hn' thing is your favourite word teme. Shouldn't you rush of and give the old pervert the data I wouldn't give him or his guards?"

"Why did you tell me then?"

Good question…

Why did he tell him?

"I don't know…"

"You don't even know?"

"Shut up! That's what I said wasn't it!"

Naruto didn't know how to explain it, he could probably blame it on the way he grew up.

Having felt nothing but hatred while growing up it was only natural to cling to the first person who actually seemed to care one way or another.

The blond would gladly give up his life for one of his fathers, he would be happy to die for someone he cared for…but still, he hadn't known the Uchiha for very long.

'Damn hormones…'

"Why are _you_ even here? Did the old man send you?"

"No."

"……"

"……"

"You don't know either do you…"

"Whatever……I have to go…dobe."

"Stop calling me that! It's annoying."

"Then it fits you, you're annoying as well."

"WHAT! Sasuke-teme! Get back here!"

The reply fell on deaf ears however, as the brunet had just closed the door and proceeded in walking away from the holding cells.

"Coward!"

Naruto huffed and lay down on the thing that was to function as a bed, his back was going to be sore in the morning…

-------------

Sasuke POV

A loud screech from his mother shocked the brunet out of his thoughts.

Was father 'punishing' her for something again? No, that couldn't be it.

Normally the shouts were followed by tears, it was strangely quiet except for his mothers

joyful cries.

'What is it NOW!'

Hadn't his life been screwed up enough in such a short time?

Sasuke walked down the hallway expecting to see his father rave and rant and his mother cower at his legs, yet he stumbled upon something quite differently.

"Hello little brother."

"I-Itachi?"

His brother had come home…with what seemed to be a young blond woman on his arm…

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Is still addicted to the new Naruto ending

Leaaaaaaaaaaaave my heaaaaaaaaaaad X-x

What have we learned today! Japanese 101.

Many people and fangirls believe that the term Yaoi means "yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi", meaning "no climax, no punch line, no meaning. However, Yaoi" can also refer to "Yamete Oshiri Ga Itai" which basically means "Stop, my ass hurts!" 3

Now, onwards with tah story X3!

Sasuke POV

Sasuke glared at his brother, or at least tried to.

He kind of felt like fainting right now, it would be utterly unacceptable though. Uchiha's simply do not faint.

Their mother smiled brightly, tears threatening to spill from her dark eyes. Her prodigal son had returned home.

Sasuke looked at the pretty blonde attached to his older brother's arm.

Her long locks covered one of her eyes, the rest of it was pulled up in a high ponytail.

A huge grin on her pretty face.

The youngest Uchiha scowled. 'She's not as pretty as Naruto…' Sasuke thought proudly. 'That and for a woman she's SERIOUSLY lacking in the chest area.'

Their father stood tall and proud and smiled in amazement, a look only reserved for the 'Uchiha prodigy'. A look that seemed to scream how much their father admired his oldest son. A look Sasuke would have given anything for to receive when he was younger…

The son of a bitch was probably glad to see that even though he left the family for several years, never looking back, his son had made the effort to find a suitable woman and return home with her. Most likely with some overdramatic story about why he hadn't even spared a moment to write a single letter in all these years.

"I'd like you all to meet my darling wife, Deidara."

(AN: Yes I know it's a guy, just wait and see X3)

"Yoroshiku."

The blond made a graceful motion, a slight blush on her smooth skinned face.

'No adorable whiskers though.' Sasuke's mother and father bowed in return, the raven haired teen refused to move an inch, earning him a nasty look from his father which spoke of an upcoming 'conversation'.

Sasuke ignored it and returned to his room, to the look of it, Jiraiya had his men search Naruto's possessions while he had been visiting him, he already knew they wouldn't find anything though...

He walked to one of the tatami mats on the floor and reached for a nearly invisible peace of string attached to one of the floor boards. This had been the place where he used to hide his journal, that is, before his brother found it and read it out loud. It was safe to say his father was not pleased with his 'romantic feelings' for his young friend.

His hatred for his brother and father had reached new levels that day.

He pulled Naruto's more suspicious belongings out of the hidden compartment. He didn't know why he hid it before he left, he would surely be punished if it became known he had helped a young shinobi get away with spying.

The dark haired teen sat down on his bed while examining what looked like a sharpened needle and sighed loudly, he needed time to think things through. Everything had been happening so fast, what exactly was he going to do about Naruto? He had the blonds life in his hands, quite literally.

His pale hands tightened their grip on the orange cloth.

If he made sure these items weren't found the blond would be released soon enough and placed under surveillance. 'He owes me…'

Some rather perverted images surfaced as he thought of several ways of how the blue eyed shinobi could repay him. It was unmistakable. Uchiha Sasuke had managed to fall in love with a certain Uzumaki Naruto. He hadn't felt this way since 'him', that had happened just as fast and unexpected. Well, a little less unexpected at least.

His name was Haku, a pale long-haired boy. Most likely more 'beautiful' then any girl in the village. (AN: Come on people, those who didn't guess it raise your hands X3)

A knock at the entrance to his room however quickly pulled his thoughts away from the memory, he quickly got up and put Naruto's belongings back where he had placed them before.

"Still keeping a journal I see."

His brother was standing in at the entrance, sliding door now open.

Apparently the 'Uchiha Prodigy' didn't need permission to enter peoples bedrooms.

"That's none of your business."

"Why little brother, with that attitude, one would think you don't seem very happy to see me. What _would _the neighbours say."

Sasuke turned his back to his brother, not quite feeling like starting an argument right now.

"How do you like my wife? Quite a looker, isn't she?"

"Heh…"

"Maybe when you grow up you'll meet someone suitable as well."

He was getting on his nerves now…

"Perhaps a farm girl."

'Settle down, don't let him get to you.'

"But then again…"

Sasuke was sure he would pop a vein…

"Father told me you're more the type to mount a man then a woman. Or is that, let a man mount you? Honestly Sasuke, I'm disappointed in you."

The brunet turned, the hatred in his eyes made it seem like his eyes were flashing red. If looks could kill, Itachi would have been well on his way to the lowest layers of hell…

Before he could say anything though, the aforementioned 'woman' appeared beside her 'loving' husband with an amused giggle. A smile was plastered on her face as she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder.

"Goodnight little brother, we shall talk more in the morning."

His brother turned and walked to his room, the 'woman' clutching his arm the entire way.

Just before entering the room however, he turned and smirked.

"Oh. And before I forget to mention it. Father and I agreed that it would be best to invite the Minamoto clan here, their daughter Yoritomi will be joining them. Do try to make a good impression, will you? There might be some hope for you after all."

Sasuke slammed the sliding door shut. 'That arrogant-!'

He really did NOT feel like meeting with that stuck up fawning bitch. The last time Yoritomi was here, she had been attached to his arm like a leech.

She had treated Haku like a disease though…

The girl believed that just because her family was rich, influential and powerful, she stood above all. Haku apparently hadn't been good enough to be in her 'divine' presence.

He could already picture his father merrily planning their wedding. As common with samurai,

a marriage was arranged by someone with same or higher rank than those marrying. For samurai in upper ranks this was a necessity, his father was more interested in the large dowry she had to offer though.

While grumbling about evil brothers, flatchested bitches and the likes, he settled into his futon, sparing a glance at the empty one beside him and grumbled some more. Hitting his pillow for good measure.

Naruto POV

This prison sucked. Big time.

Turning around without waking up because of the awful sounds the pathetic excuse of a bed made was practically impossible.

The place was cold, the toilet looked like a germ-farm and there was this strange smell in the air. The type you recognized, but you couldn't quite make it out where you'd smelled it before.

To top it all off, there had been a shift of guards about ten minutes ago. But rather then the first guard packing up and going home, the two of them were going at it like rabbits on the creaking desk just around the corner. Suddenly he thanked the bed for making such a racket, for if Naruto had fallen asleep he would have most likely had a nightmare involving a balding skinny guard and the huge over weighted man humping him. The current mental images were bad enough…

He could hear the other imprisoned shinobi whimper. At least Naruto wasn't going to be the only one suffering from a trauma after this. He understood lying to people was bad, but this was cruel and unusual punishment! Even Tsunade wouldn't be this cruel! Or…perhaps she would… She was good at making up horrible punishments, he still remembered the one she came up with after he had once again been 'creative with paint' and had 'decorated' the hokage's carved faces. He normally never did repeated performances, but that had been a special occasion.

Sandaime had died about a day before said repeated performance. The old man had dealt with a huge amount of Naruto's pranks throughout his life. That one particular joke had actually amused the old fart. So, the blond, deciding against his better judgement as a professional prankster, that he'd honour the old man by supplying his carved 'twin' with some colour to brighten up the place a little.

Tsunade had not been amused, to say the least…

He had been forced to do the lamest missions possible for a month. As a young genin he had thought that the low level missions Sandaime had given him and his team couldn't get any worse, he was forced to reconsider that thought. A month of heavy yet useless work totally unfit for even the weakest of shinobi's. Even the pay had sucked.

Currently, he couldn't decide which of the two psychotic leaders was worse. The old pervert or the old hag. Tough choice.

The grunts and moans finally stopped.

'Maybe I'll actually get some sleep around here!'

The blond seemed to have jinxed his chance for sleep however, as someone knocked on the door and the guards suddenly scrambled to get their clothes on and make the place appear normal.

'Good luck with that.' Naruto thought sarcastically. He seriously hoped they got caught by whoever decided to visit at this hour as a little punishment for scarring him for the rest of his life, however long he still had to live though.

The door opened while they were frantically arranging their clothes, their ruffled appearance earned them a raised eyebrow from the person visiting. The perverted Sannin stood before him looking rather disturbed, apparently he didn't like the mental images much either.

Naruto tried to look cool and unaffected as the former look was followed by an intense stare. It was one of those typical, 'you will break, cower and sweat and tell me all of your secrets before the night is over' looks. Iruka sensei had been good with those…

"What do you want now old man."

"Your belongings have been searched…"

Naruto sighed at that, he should have seen it coming.

'Death sentence here we come.'

The next part surprised him however.

"And we have concluded that none of the items in your possession are suspicious. I deeply apologize for treating you as anything but a hero. We are in your debt. If you hadn't caught the shinobi spy, he might have given away valuable information that could cost us our lives."

Had his blue eyes grown any larger, they might have fallen out.

'But how! How could he not find a full set of shinobi gear suspicious! How did-'

Only one name was necessary to explain it all.

'Sasuke…'

The brunet had been so angry with him…yet he still helped him escape a death sentence? 'He's risking everything by helping me, what did I do to gain his trust?' He owed him an explanation to say the least.

"Then I'm free to go?"

"Yes you are, that and to make up for your rather disturbing evening, I'm inviting you to spend the night at my home."

Jiraiya opened the cell door and allowed Naruto to step outside.

"That had better not mean anything perverted."

That earned him a smack on the head.

"You may be of the hook 'hero' brat, but that doesn't mean you don't have to show respect to your elders."

"Whatever ero-sannin…"

"That's Jiraiya-sama dammit!"

This would most likely be an interesting night.

'Might as well enjoy sleeping in a warm comfortable futon tonight, 'cause I have the feeling Sasuke's going to be itching for that explanation…perhaps confessing isn't such a bad idea after all.'

(AN: I wanted to end it here, but I decided to write some more, aren't I merciful X3)

Sasuke POV

Sasuke couldn't sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he would see either Naruto's cheerful face or have rather interesting recollections of see through clothing and accidental kisses.

His newly acquired boy-on-boy fangirls would most likely have a field day if they could see him now.

The whole idea still kind of disturbed him though, the thought of being in love made him sick, yet at the same time it felt as though this huge weight had been lifted of his shoulders.

That after Haku he could still feel, regardless of the unspoken promises he had made to himself.

Before Naruto, there had been one group of psychotic women to avoid like the plague.

Now they had divided into separate groups and seemed to grow in number by the minute. Sasuke could have sworn there had been several girls there from neighbouring villages. Before Naruto, he didn't feel the weakness known as love, not even for his family.

Before Naruto, Haku had been the only person in his life that made him 'give a damn'. Before Naruto….life had been dull and uneventful.

He could have pictured the rest of his life being one big farce merely a few days ago. The worst part of it all, he had accepted it. Living in his brothers shadow for all eternity, marrying Minamoto Yoritomi, or someone equally annoying, having children, hopefully a son so he wouldn't necessarily have to have any more. Sleeping in separate rooms and pretending to be a happy couple in front of everyone else, just so he wouldn't disgrace the man who made it all possible, his father…

His abusive, good for nothing, wretch of a father.

They all would expect him to be married soon as well, just like his 'perfect' brother and his 'perfect' flatchested whore he calls a wife.

Now that he had Naruto, how was he supposed to go back to that pathetic excuse of a life?

Naruto, a blond haired blue eyed shinobi with an adorable set of whiskers marking his equally adorable skin. How could he sleep with some cold hearted woman, have children with her and pretend to be a happy couple while thinking of that high spirited young shinobi?

He couldn't-wouldn't let this last chance at happiness slip. The only problem was how he was going to do this, but it had to happen soon. Who knew how long Itachi would stay here. If he and Naruto got together with his brother still within the village, his parents wouldn't be able to complain about the lack of grandchildren and an heir to their family name.

They would make Itachi stay here, wife included and he and Naruto would be able to go anywhere they wanted…

He just hoped that wherever Naruto normally lived, they really were as peaceful as the blond had implied. He somehow doubted they would welcome a samurai in their midst.

It was a risky idea, but the thought of getting out of this village managed to put his mind at ease. The young Uchiha heir finally managed to doze off.

Naruto POV

The place was a total and utter mess. Porn and paperwork everywhere.

It somehow reminded him of a typical teenage bachelors apartment…

It was totally unbecoming of a leader and made a poor impression on any houseguest that dared venture into this place of pevertedness and messiness.

Naruto loved it.

It kind of reminded him of his own place. One of the perks of being an orphan since birth is the lack of parental authority when it comes to matters such as ones bedroom. Or in Naruto's case, his house. No-one to tell you what to do or what not to do. It could be lonely as hell, but at least he was his own man!

His pile of empty ramen packs, dirty laundry and other junk was faithfully waiting for him at home. Even that spider on the upper right corner of his bathroom would be there to greet him upon arrival, along with the equally ecstatic dust bunnies currently gathering in places such as under the bed. A place like the Uchiha home would never have allowed a spider to penetrate their sacred home. And as nice as it was to sleep in a place that luxurious, he preferred dust bunnies over fine art any day.

"You can sleep over here brat."

Naruto let the brat comment slide and walked over to a small room with a common futon in it. No silk embroided sheets, but a normal futon.

"Don't make too much noise sine I sleep in the next room. I would hate to miss my beauty sleep."

"Yeah, we all know you need it."

After earning himself yet another smack on the head, he walked to the futon.

The blond stripped down to his underwear and snuggled into the blankets.

For all he knew it could be his last, at least if Sasuke managed to get his hands on him tomorrow…

Sasuke POV

'Where is he!'

The young Uchiha was searching around for the object of his newly awaked affection frantically.

'Jiraiya wouldn't execute him without a reason would he?'

Then he remembered Naruto's sharp tongue when it came to verbal communication.

Upon arriving at the holding cells this morning, he noticed the blue eyed shinobi wasn't in his cell. The guard who had been positioned there didn't know where he was either and only offered him 'Maybe his death sentence was carried out, you should check the graveyard'.

He had hid the man for that…

No-one messes with a distraught Uchiha and gets away with it.

Especially not when it involves important matters such as adorable whisker marked blue eyed blondes!

Indeed, an Uchiha in love is a frightening thing to say the least.

Most likely even more frightening then the fangirls that lived inside this village…

"Ohayou Sasuke!"

The raven haired samurai nearly jumped out of his skin, he turned around slowly, suppressing the urge to strangle the currently happily grinning moron standing behind him.

"Where were you?" He asked calmly, but with a tone that would make even the toughest of warriors piss their pants.

"Eh…I was at t-the old man's place. H-he offered to l-let me stay at his place ehehehehe…"

In any other situation the look on the idiots face would have been hilarious.

"And you didn't think once to tell me that before you had me thinking you were dead?"

"Geez Sasuke, you sound like an angry wife or something…"

That had been a bad idea to say that, it earned him a bump on the head to go along with the ones he had gotten from Jiraiya.

"What is it with everyone and smacking me on the head!"

Someone other then him had been manhandling the blond? Quickly suppressing the thought, he grabbed the shinobi's arm and proceeded in dragging him of to the place they had first met.

The two of them needed to talk…

Naruto POV

He had woken up, limbs scattered all over the place, hair a total mess.

After yawning and stretching a little bit, he got up to get dressed, ready to start a brand new day! Or ready-ish…

He still hadn't quite figured out what he was going to say to Sasuke. Better yet, he was more worried about what Sasuke was going to say to him. Imagine the look of surprise when said young Uchiha was walking towards the building he had been imprisoned in mere hours ago.

The young man looked kind of stressed out.

Like he hadn't slept properly for about 4 days straight…

Naruto thought of waking up the old pervert and use him as a human shield in case Sasuke decided to be more physical then verbal in their upcoming 'talk'.

He quickly suppressed the thought though.

Regardless of what Jiraiya had said, he was still under suspicion.

It didn't take a great mind to figure out what the old man had been trying to pull.

He had been given the room next to Jiraiya's to see if he did anything stupid like try an assassination. No bigger temptation then to be alone with the leader of ones opponents in a place where the target would be the most relaxed. Only an idiot would make such an obvious attempt.

The ero-sannin had most likely been on guard the entire night. Not that he could blame him for being suspicious though. It wasn't exactly normal for a commoner to take down a shinobi – or samurai for that matter. Not that samurai would actually be able to figure out the shinobi class-system on their own. They wouldn't be able to tell a jounin from a low-level genin.

Heck, they even had trouble determining which village a shinobi came from.

Naruto ran over to meet Sasuke, deciding cheerfulness would be the plan of attack in the battle known as Uchiha Sasuke, temperamental emo-poster boy extraordinaire.

"Ohayou Sasuke!"

The brunet turned around after nearly jumping into the air out of shock.

"Where were you?"

'Forget Jiraiya and Tsunade, Sasuke wins, no doubt about it'

He though, as he remembered his earlier musings about which psychotic leader was crazier.

"Eh…I was at t-the old man's place. H-he offered to l-let me stay at his place ehehehehe…" "And you didn't think once to tell me that before you had me thinking you were dead?"

"Geez Sasuke, you sound like an angry wife or something…"

A fist came in contact with the already tender spot on his head before he could say anything else. "What is it with everyone and smacking me on the head!"

A pale hand closed over his arm and proceeded in dragging him off, he was expecting the worst… The blond certainly hadn't been expecting what would happen next though. 

Sasuke POV

"Eh! You want me to what!"

He couldn't believe he was going through with this, his parents would murder him…and that was if he was lucky.

"You heard me dobe, I want you to take me with you."

"B-but-"

"It's the least you could do, after all, I saved your ass from an appointment with the local executioner."

"You seriously don't expect me to take you with me do you? Even if I did there's no way they would let you get near my hometown, let alone allowing you to live there!"

"They would if you helped me, I'm sure you would be able to convince them…

If not, I could pretend I'm just another visitor. Since you play the part so well, I doubt I'd have any trouble pretending to be someone else. If a moron can do it, so can I."

"Convince them! Have you got any idea how much trouble I'm going to be in for taking you there! If they find out who you really are, both of our asses are gonna be on the line! And don't call me a moron!"

"Have you got any idea how much trouble you would be in right now if Jiraiya and I sat down for a nice chat?"

He had to admit, that was really, _really_ low. But right now he would give anything to get away from this place, that and with Itachi around, his parents wouldn't be as persistent in chasing him down.

That and Naruto was his ticket into a safe haven even the 'great' Itachi wouldn't follow, he wasn't about to let him leave without him.

"That's not fair Sasuke."

"Hn."

True, it wasn't. But if being 'unfair' was necessary to convince the blue eyed shinobi, then so be it. After all, all is fair in love and war. Right?

"You're really not gonna change your mind about this are you…"

"Hn."

The blond sighed, clearly having given up on trying to change Sasuke's mind.

"Exactly when do you plan on us leaving?"

"Soon."

"Would you at least answer with more then one word teme!"

"Whatever. Just start packing when we get back, we're leaving once my parents are distracted by the Minamoto clan."

"The who?"

It was Sasuke's turn to sigh. He really didn't feel like waiting for another day, but if he left before the Minamoto's arrived, his presence would be missed and their 'adventure' would be cut short.

It was best to leave either while they were present, or upon their departure.

He knew they wouldn't stay for very long, they always complained about how the 'neighbourhood of the Uchiha family was getting bad' ever since the shinobi's started their private war. The family that used to live beside them had been prestigious and wealthy, it wasn't as if their reputation and money could protect them from enemies, quite the opposite. Allowing yourself to grow weak was an even greater mistake.

The family that had moved in when the Masamori clan met their untimely end, wasn't nearly as prestigious and barely had any money, which wasn't strange with half a dozen mouths to feed. Not even including the parents.

Rumour has it that most of those children, if not all of them, didn't even belong to the couple. The wife was said to be barren and all of the children were either orphaned or disowned.

They had been called 'leeches to society' by Minamoto Musashi and his family and Jiraiya a fool to even allow such people to move into such a lovely house.

A lot could be said about their elder, true, he could be a bit of a fool from time to time.

But allowing people 'less fortunate' to stay in their village wasn't foolish. The old man would gladly sacrifice his own life for everyone in the village, protecting his people meant everything for him…that and his strange obsession with pornography…

"Oi! Sasuke!"

The Uchiha was startled out of his trail of thoughts. Naruto was glaring, or rather attempting to glare at him. That look most likely wouldn't even frighten a rabbit.

Last evening had been different though. He had looked like someone else.

Stealthy, crafty, silent and deadly. A real shinobi. To be honest, he was slightly impressed.

"Hey! Would you stop zoning out like that! All that staring is giving me the creeps.

You're not thinking anything perverted are you?"

"Shut up idiot, I already told you I'm not a pervert."

"That's a matter of opinion…

Itai! Stop hitting me on the head already! If I grow bald in that place I'm gonna hold you responsible!"

"Bald? Perhaps it would be an improvement."

"What!"

He knew what was coming next.

"I'm not talking to you!"

'I knew it.'

He cracked a smile, a tiny one mind you, when he saw Naruto pout while mumbling insults obviously meant for him.

'This is going to be one interesting trip.' He could hardly wait.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

And yet another chapter X3

This was the final one of the ones I had written out already.

A little note to my readers, I can be a little busy from time to time and tend to be a slow updater. So if it takes a long time, don't worry, I'm going to stick to my ficcage till the end

I'm doing this to improve my English and actually learn how to write . 

coughand yes…

Chapter 11!

Naruto POV

'Who the hell is she?'

Naruto gazed upon the…lovely addition to the Uchiha family and the eldest of the two brothers.

Earlier 

He hadn't expected things to change this drastically in such a short amount of time…really he hadn't. Not only did Sasuke's mother sport some fancy new bruises, she seemed damn happy about them. Or at least about something.

He doubted it was because he had been declared "innocent" either.

Even Sasuke's father seemed goddamn cheerful about something and even though he had known him for such a short amount of time, even he could tell that was an accomplishment worthy to be placed on the town bulletin boards.

"Hurry up woman! They'll be expecting breakfast soon!"

Or cheerful-ish…

'Doesn't that guy ever give the woman a break? Sheez.'

"Oi, Sasuke, what's with everyone being so friggin' happy?"

Said brunet mumbled something about assholes and flatchested bitches before storming off to his room.

'I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank god at least he's still normal.'

The head Uchiha walked out of the kitchen after 'motivating' his wife into working faster, not that it was humanly possible…

"Oh, it's you…and your head's still attached I see. How…nice."

He had had enough…really. Naruto didn't know if it was normal Uchiha behaviour to be annoying by nature, especially to him, or if they had eight foot poles crammed up their royal asses.

First Sasuke's attempt at blackmailing, right after a batch of mood swings that could rival a pregnant woman's fits any day. Then having to deal with his stuck-up father who was behaving even more weird then usual.

Worst of all, he couldn't think of a clever come-back.

(AN: In other words I couldn't come up with one lol)

"Did that old fossil cut of your tongue during the interrogations?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but then, as if he had jinxed it, a voice wounded from his left.

"And who would this be?"

"Ah, son, I see you're awake. This would be Sasuke's…friend. Now how is your wife doing this morning."

"She's quite well, thank you."

The new person was almost a copy of Sasuke, well, a taller and scarier one anyways.

They had the same pale skin, dark eyes and hair and that weird Uchiha 'grace'.

If one would call it that.

'That's Sasuke's big brother? He's huge!'

"Oh, honey, there you are."

That's when he came face to face with…'it'.

Current time 

Now if it is one thing Uzumaki Naruto is good at, it's telling a real smile from a fake one.

And that smile was DEFENITELY a fake.

'The only fake thing she needs is a set of boobs.'

"Well, 'friend of Sasuke', I'd like you to meet my wife, Deidara."

"Nice to meet you…"

He raised an eyebrow at the overly graceful bow. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have hardly believed someone could be _this_ bad at acting.

Something was of with that 'Deidara' girl…

He bowed in return, to remain polite and slowly walked towards Sasuke's room.

Or at least planned to before Sasuke's father decided to remind him of his presence…

"Oh, and could you perhaps alert my son that his future wife will be arriving tomorrow?"

'Future wife!'

"S-sure…"

He could tell the threesome looked rather smug because of his shocked expression.

But honestly! That Sasuke! He had given up on trying to convince Sasuke into staying here, if anything, he had been more or less looking forward to having an actual friend – maybe something more – in Konoha and he forgets to mention he's engaged? As in to be married?

Is that what Sasuke was so cranky about? Being found out by Naruto before he could have his 'perverted ways' with him?

'That jerk.'

Now it was a certain blond shinobi's turn to throw a fit…

Sasuke POV

Upon hearing his father order his mother around, he had been painfully reminded that his time of 'departure' wasn't here just yet.

He walked, or rather skulked off to his room. Which was silly, since an Uchiha did NOT skulk. But then again, an Uchiha would never fall in love with a shinobi either…

Shinobi's…

He wondered what their village looked like and what types of magic, or ninjutsu as Naruto called it, they used. Basically he had only seen them turning into trees and vanishing into smoke. According to Naruto that was only basic ninja knowledge.

They supposedly learned these things in a school. He wanted to see that school…

And the faces of the so called 'Hokage's' carved into the mountain that almost surrounded Naruto's hometown.

He also wanted to see Naruto's apartment.

The blond had warned him about it not being very big, but Sasuke didn't care.

He had been used to a life of luxury around here and hadn't liked it one bit.

If he had his way, and most likely would since an Uchiha always gets things done their way, he would be staying there with Naruto for the rest of his life.

The two of them…living together…and since the apartment was kind of small…perhaps sleep under the same blankets together?

A blush spread across pale cheeks.

Which was bad…

Blushing was for school girls and Uchiha's did not behave like schoolgirls.

Come to think of it, there was a lot of stuff Uchiha's didn't do.

Sasuke frowned. Who made up those stupid rules anyways?

(AN: I do. Muahahahahahahaha! 3)

Not that it mattered, he would soon be out of here.

The sliding door to his room opened up rather harshly, revealing a rather annoyed Naruto.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a fiancé!"

"Fiancé? What _are_ you talking about moron?"

'The one that's coming to visit tomorrow! That's what!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Why? Are you jealous?"

Blue eyes widened.

"O-of course not! Stupid Sasuke…"

'There's that adorable pout again.'

"She's not my fiancé dobe, or at least not if I have anything to say about it."

"Then who is she?"

"No threat to you…"

"What do you mean no- Hey!"

He couldn't hold down a slight chuckle at the sight of Naruto's face. Redder then a tomato and not out of rage either.

"You're thinking perverted things again, aren't you!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me a pervert?"

"I only call 'em as I see 'em Uchiha."

He swiped, aiming for that still tender spot on top of the moron's head.

Unfortunately for him and fortunately for Naruto, the blond had learned how to duck…

"Hah! You missed! Now could you tell me who's visiting?"

Sasuke sighed.

"A family from a neighbouring village. The girl they were talking about is the daughter of the head of that family. My…father…plans on getting the two of us married."

"And you're not okay with it?"

"No, I'm not. You'll see what I mean when they get here…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his statement, but didn't ask any questions otherwise.

Even though he didn't feel like seeing Yoritomi tomorrow, their speedy visit meant the two of them could leave even sooner then he had hoped.

It seemed luck was on his side.

Later: Itachi's room 

Two forms sat huddles up together, speaking in hushed tones.

"Are they all asleep?"

"They are, un."

"Good. Did you take a good look at the shinobi they caught?"

"Un, it wasn't him though. Some bratty little genin from Sound."

"That's bad. He was supposed to have been sighted here. Our leader will not approve."

"Don't worry _dearest_, we'll think of something to tell him, un."

"I already told you not to call me dearest."

"Yeah yeah. Let's just get some shut eye, un?"

"Fine."

"Good night…dearest."

The blond removed the fancy kimono…revealing a very male chest.

The oldest Uchiha grumbled something about 'rookie members' before settling down into his futon.

Next day 

Sasuke POV

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuuuun!"

That was his only warning before a dark blob attached itself to his arm.

"It's been _such_ a long time! How have you been?"

"Fine…"

"Oh? Who's he?"

Apparently the blob had finally taken notice of the blond standing beside him.

"This would be Naruto, a friend of mine."

'Hopefully more, if I have a say in the matter.'

Said poor boy was currently being circled like a carcass during dinner time in the dessert.

As to be expected.

She did NOT approve.

At all.

It didn't take long for that arrogant look he remembered so well to appear on the face of one of the most annoying women he had ever had the displeasure of being acquainted with.

Not that it mattered if she liked Naruto or not, they wouldn't be here much longer to begin with. The mere thought of leaving with Naruto by his side gave him enough strength to live through several hours of this….torment.

He just hoped Naruto could last that long as well. One quick look on the whisker marked face and he could tell that the look Yoritomi was giving him made him terribly uncomfortable.

They were rushed of inside by the two mothers, who were currently chatting away about the 'challenges a proper mother faced every day'. That and the latest gossip of course.

The Minamoto family barely even took notice of Naruto, only sparing him one disapproving glance before returning to their conversations.

The blond was _really_ starting to get uncomfortable. He pulled Naruto aside and leaned forward a bit. "Are you alright dobe?"

"Of course I am teme! I just don't like the way they're looking at me, that's all!"

Sasuke didn't buy it though…he was getting worried…again.

And Uchiha's did _not_ worr-

'Dammit, I've GOT to stop doing that.'

Naruto POV

It was like Konoha all over again, the part of Konoha he _didn't_ miss that is.

Those disapproving stares, as if he were some kind of filthy being, unworthy of their presence. It was that exact same look his teachers had given him, the same one the villagers gave him and a similar one to the ones children his age had given him a long time ago, when he asked them if they wanted to play with him.

Those stares were the reason he liked long-term missions so much. True, in a way it was running from your problems. But he just got tired of it sometimes.

Sasuke's concern for him did light up his mood a little bit though. Back in Konoha, the only person to worry about him was his sensei, Iruka. But he was a teacher, worrying came natural to them, like believing homework was GOOD for people. How Iruka-sensei could think that was beyond Naruto.

Like basic math would actually help in a real battle. At least you could calculate how quickly your enemy would kill you…heh, and _now_ his good humour returned.

The people around him were walking towards the gardens. Or rather most of them were walking, Sasuke was being dragged their by his 'not-my-fiancé'. He sighed and trailed after them. He just hoped Sasuke planned on leaving soon, he didn't feel like spending his time with narrow-minded people like those Minamoto jerks.

When he reached the garden, he noticed Itachi feeding his 'beloved fish' Kisame.

His wife hanging from his arms as usual.

The rest of the group, minus Sasuke and Yoritomi, were sitting at the table on top of a wooden floor. It was a room he hadn't paid much attention to when Sasuke gave him his tour.

It was a magnificent wooden structure, resembling a small house, minus walls that is.

In it was a long table with gorgeous wooden chairs.

It were most likely the first set of chairs he had seen during his stay in samurai territory.

Now if he could only find a proper bed and ditch the futon…

The people at the table were smiling at the 'newlyweds'.

The elder of the Minamoto family nodding approvingly beside his dear old friend, Sasuke's father.

Meanwhile Sasuke was trying to make that stuck up brat let go of his arm. It was quite a hilarious sight. If she held onto said arm any tighter, she was gonna break it.

The brunet looked absolutely horrified at the closeness of that leech-like girl.

Naruto wondered if the girls back in Konoha would fawn over the young Uchiha in the same manner. Ino and Sakura, two of his fellow Konoha genin, would probably faint from one of those 'looks' Sasuke gave people.

It was all in the eyes, those dark, mysterious black pools that held little emotion.

Or at least not at first sight.

An annoying giggle, coming from Itachi's wife, caught his attention. Apparently she thought the fish was funny for some reason, judging by the way she was pointing at it. It most likely ate another fish…he wouldn't put it passed the evil yet cool water-creature (since one couldn't quite call it a fish).

Sasuke POV

"And then, after we're married we'll have a lot of strong sons to carry on your name and one little girl for me to dote upon."

Sasuke shivered.

He did NOT want to picture a future with kids just as bratty and arrogant as Yoritomi.

He could already tell that their 'daughter' would be just as bad as her…

Worst of all, the woman just would NOT let go.

He had wanted to talk to Naruto about what happened earlier.

The normally loud shinobi was being awfully quiet right now, Sasuke didn't like it at all.

Naruto seemed distant somehow, like he was miles away.

But then again, he would have more then enough opportunities to talk to him. Since they would be leaving tonight. During dinner, he would make sure to hurry up and find some sort of excuse to go to his room. He would hurry up and finish packing his and Naruto's belongings.

Then, as soon as peoples backs were turned so to say, they would get out of here as fast as they could.

He had introduced himself and with that had performed his 'duties' for the final time.

He could count on his brother, even though he disliked the idea of counting on his brother for anything, to keep the guests entertained with those long, boring stories about his adventures.

Yoritomi, being the foolish git that she is, would practically be hanging on his every word, not even noticing that his absence was taking longer then expected.

His parents didn't care, the Minamoto's didn't care, Itachi and his wife didn't care. It was perfect.

"But do take note that it shan't be proper for you to continue to carry on any sort of relationship with that _Naruto_ while we're married.

He's not good for your reputation. I hear he got arrested earlier, can you imagine, being arrested? He should commit suicide rather then live with such a shame. It's an outrage."

Sasuke made a final attempt of dislodging the Minamoto heiress before guiding her to the table. She then finally let go and waited expectantly for her 'beloved' to slide back the chair for her. Oh, he slid back a chair alright, just not hers.

He watched Naruto sit down, blushing like crazy before sitting down himself, paying no attention whatsoever to the girl that was currently glaring envious at the young shinobi.

'Step one, 'make the bitch angry so she'll start ignoring me and think I dislike it' complete. Just about an hour left before dinner…'

Naruto POV

It was safe to say that Yoritomi was angry with him for that stunt Sasuke had pulled. He thanked whatever deity currently came to mind that she had been the only one to notice this.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough as it is.

He also didn't like it much when Sasuke excused himself with the excuse of not feeling very well and left him to his own resources. At least he had been sitting in between of him and the Minamoto girl.

He had whispered into his ear to meet him in his room in about ten minutes.

Was he planning on leaving tonight? Or was he attempting something perverted…

Meanwhile, the conversations resumed.

Itachi was boasting about some sort of great achievement of his.

All eyes and ears turned towards the Uchiha prodigy.

Ten minutes passed before he calmly stood up.

"Naruto dear, is something the matter?"

Sasuke's mother really was to sweet for her own good, he would miss her…kind of.

"No nothing, I'm just a little bit tired, since I had a bit of a rough night last night. I think I'll go to sleep. Please excuse me."

"But of course dear. Sleep well."

He bowed to everyone that was sitting at the table. Not even one of them made a move to acknowledge him.

When he walked away from the table the only sound he could make out was the simple statement "good riddance". Yep, Yoritomi REALLY didn't like him.

Not that he cared much. In the end, he was the one that Sasuke had chosen for…more or less.

Would they be leaving tonight?

Naruto walked down the hall he had seen many times during his stay here.

He tried picturing a life of him and Sasuke living together.

He already knew that he hadn't much to offer him back in Konoha.

His apartment was small and had only the basic furniture a shinobi would need.

Somehow he wished he could run home, clean the place a little and then come back for Sasuke as he recalled the state it had been in when he left.

Perhaps he should write a note to Iruka-sensei and ask him a favour. The man had the key to his place anyways.

Once again opening the sliding doors he had gotten accustomed to, he saw Sasuke packing his belongings. Next to the bag the brunet was currently stuffing, he saw his own things.

"Do you mind if I change into my shinobi gear?"

After all, travelling in a kimono was not much of a good idea.

"Sure, just hurry up."

Naruto sighed. He had hoped to at least say goodbye to Sasuke's mother. She had been awfully nice to him.

'Oh well, can't be helped I guess.'

Sasuke's POV

'Step two, 'get money from the vault' completed.'

He thought as he patted the bulge in his less complicated clothes.

This should last them for a while.

He decided to only wear a light blue hakama with dark blue matching pants.

Common sandals on his feet, to make sure he could move fast and silent.

Sasuke watched Naruto close the orange jacket, adjust his weapons pouch and put on his sandals.

After a quick check of their belongings, he nodded to Naruto.

'Step three, 'pack' completed.'

The brunet opened the door and walked down the halls. The sound of Naruto's footsteps encouraged him to keep going. He made sure to avoid any window that looked over the garden before heading towards the exit.

He stepped outside hesitantly.

"If we're gonna go, let's go already."

Naruto was right.

They needed to get as much of a lead as they could.

It was far too late to be having second thoughts.

He silently closed the door behind him before dashing of after Naruto.

Naruto would lead the way…and he would follow.

Hopefully to a better life…

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Now that I semi-trust aff not to loose anything, I give you chapter 12!**

**Chapter 12 Of Shopping and Sharing**

**Sasuke P.O.V.**

'Five days...Five friggin' days.'

The young Uchiha was annoyed. To say the least.

They had been walking in the words amongst the disgusting bugs and animals, the dirt, the stupid trees, the even more stupid shrubs and he hadn't had a decent night of sleep in FIVE days!

And moreover, his 'crush' had been blabbering on and on about random things he considered to be 'great' about his village, which Sasuke now knew was called Konohagakure.

If he had to hear ONE more word about this stuff called 'ramen', he was going to throttle the blond. Said blond refused to acknowledge his plies to take a break and offered him a disgusting looking brown round 'thing' called a soldiers pill.

He may be stupid enough to fall in love with a shinobi, but that sure as hell didn't mean he was going to eat something _made_ by a shinobi.

Those things seemed to have something to do with Naruto's 'everlasting supply of energy'.

The only time Sasuke had seen the moron out of his constant happy/perky state was when Sasuke had raised an eyebrow upon seeing the shinobi walk –as in not run but WALK- up a tree, stood still upside down and had the gall to ask him if something was wrong with HIM!

"I guess we'll have to travel on foot then…"

Like it was actually SASUKE'S fault he was a normal person and wasn't some kind of tree-climbing freak.

So now they had to walk all the way to Naruto's precious Konoha.

Especially after refusing to be carried there.

He was an Uchiha dammit! He would NOT be carried around like a frail woman or a child, no matter HOW long the journey was.

Uchiha's walk on their own.

When this 'little trip' was through, he would take a hot bath, eat his favourites and sleep until he had caught up on all the hours he had missed while being tugged around by that loudmouthed blond. All at the moron's expense of course…

"Hey Sasuke!"

Uchiha Sasuke

Age 18

Died of a heart attack while running away from home.

Cause of death: A stealthy shinobi attack from a tree-branch, executed with extreme loudness.

Or at least that's what his tombstone would have said.

"What's that?"

Sasuke grabbed the orange clad neck. Or at least tried to, as it moved away, causing Sasuke to make a rather un-Uchiha-like tumble.

"Why are you on the ground?"

'That little-'

"Well anyway, check it out Sasuke! A parade!"

The brunet raised an eyebrow. What in the world would a parade be doing in the middle of a forest?

Men in colourful armour, carrying even more colourful weapons and banners, were marching across the open field before them.

Sasuke recognized the symbol. It was a powerful samurai clan way up north. The symbols were a dead give away and those specific colours were a sign of war.

They were a rather awkward clan, pride even greater then that of the Uchiha's. The all-powerful Oda clan often had 'disagreements' with the nearby Uesugi clan.

"That is NOT a parade Usuratonkachi, that would be an army."

"An army? What would an army be doing way out here?"

"Are you THAT stupid? They're here to fight a war."

"You don't exactly have to yell ya know. I don't think that's a good idea…"

"What do you 'think'! You NEVER think!"

The last thing Sasuke registered before hitting the ground was a whiskered face.

"What in Kami's name do you think you're doing!"

A strange object appeared before them.

A brown long thing with hooves a mere few inches away from them hit the ground.

Upon looking up, the two young men realised the thing was a horse, or rather Sasuke realised it was a horse…..

"I told you…" Sasuke cringed. "Shut up…"

On top of the horse was a rather angry looking man.

**Naruto P.O.V.**

"And you call me an idiot..."

Naruto said while cleaning up the mess. Luckily the man had gone down fast and above all quietly. He had made quick work of him with the clever use of a kage-bunshin.

The two had taken cover around the nearby bushes and watched the distant figures move across the planes.

Two great samurai households at war, one impressed-hyperactive blond shinobi and a completely mortified brunet Uchiha runaway.

The guys had been giving him weird looks ever since they left the village. It was starting to get a bit annoying really.

Sasuke's flat out refusal to take any soldier pills freaked him out even more. Why refuse something that could help you? Unless it was a samurai thing…

That was probably it. It had to be right? No normal person could walk around for five days without sleep and a proper meal. Anything the brunet had eaten came from the forest and couldn't possible contain enough vitamins and stuff to keep him going for that long.

Sasuke _was_ starting to look a bit tired though.

Naruto grumbled. This all wouldn't have happened had Sasuke simply let him carry him to Konoha. It would have been a LOT faster. Naruto really hated moving around this slow, it looked bad on his reputation…Which was bad enough as it is.

He just hoped Tsunade-baba could take a joke…

Going on a mission to study the samurai's weaknesses and then bringing one home, funny…right?

'She's gonna kill me…unless-'

An idea dawned upon him.

It was one of those rare moments when the stuff his brain told him made sense.

He wasn't Konoha's number one ninja at surprising for nothing!

Clothes.

They would need clothes, or rather Sasuke would need them.

From this day forward Uzumaki Naruto had a new mission!

'Keep a certain Uchiha Sasuke's identity a secret and-'

A sudden cry filled the entire forest. It was _that_ primal and loud.

A sword had been driven through a man's chest at an odd angle.

Naruto watched the battle intensify. The death count had been picking up at an alarming rate while he had been musing. The grass was tinted red, dead bodies were piled up all around. It didn't take long for things to quiet down.

Soon, only a few red clad samurai stood amongst the mass of corpses and severed limbs.

Naruto didn't get it though. Why fight this brutally? There were many other ways of killing an opponent. Hacking away at vital organs and cutting up anything that moved seemed such a crude way of waging war…

Why not simply use stealth and finish your enemy _before_ the situation could turn into a massacre. Even if all else failed, why make such a bloody mess?

Naruto felled sasuke tug on his sleeve.

"Let's go dobe…"

"Don't call me that teme…"

**Sasuke P.O.V.**

"THIS is Konoha?"

They had finally arrived in the first civilized place in _quite_ a while and Sasuke had expected it to be this 'Konoha' Naruto seemed to be so elated about.

At least he seemed perky enough to see this place, with that wide grin plastered all over his face.

"What are you so happy about?"

The grin widened, if possible, causing Naruto to resemble a fox.

"This isn't Konoha stupid. This is the water country. We have to take a boat from here and walk for a couple more hours and THEN we'll be there. We're just going to make a stop here. You can't go to Konoha dressed like that."

"And what is wrong with my clothes?"

'You're kidding right? No sane person would dress like that."

Sasuke glared.

"Well…sane shinobi anyways…"

Sasuke couldn't really see how his clothes weren't 'normal'. Sure, the people wore odd rags around here, but still. They resembled his clothes in some way.

"Then what? Dress like a shinobi?"

"No, but you could dress a little more…casual."

Raising an eyebrow at the suspicious grin, Sasuke looked around.

He could kind of see how his clothes would stand out, if this is how the general shinobi territory people dressed.

"Ooh! Look over there! That looks like a good place to start!"

Sasuke was almost deathly afraid to ask…

"Start what exactly?"

"Our shopping trip, duh!"

'I knew it…'

Suddenly Sasuke didn't feel like going to Konoha anymore…

He detested shopping with a passion, ever since Itachi had yet again made a fool out of him when he was younger. But that was one story best not remembered…

Not that he had time to reminisce, no, he was being dragged into a dusty old building.

3 3 3

It didn't take long for Naruto to ruin the mood.

"Check this out! A friend of mine named fuzzy eyebrows – I mean Lee wears this stuff! Isn't it awesome?"

It was a green…thing. A thing he wouldn't be caught dead in…

"Forget it."

"What! Don't you know style or something! This thins is like Kami's gift to men! It gives you free movement, blends in with the trees and looks really stylish!"

' Do shinobi really wear that?'

"It's not my colour…"

The blond scratched his chin while closing his eyes and looked thoughtful for a moment. If such a thing was possible… Anyone that deemed an outfit such as this 'stylish' had to be a total and utter moron…or colour-blind.

"Then what kind of colours do you like?"

"Dark ones."

That really wasn't a hard decision to make…

"Dark? Who would want to wear boring old clothes like that?"

"Who would want to look like a circus freak."

"Circus freak! Who are you calling a circus freak!"

"You, you idiot…"

"Shut up bastard! I'm not an idiot! Or a circus freak for that matter!"

A giggle interrupted the two arguing young men. They looked around, trying to determine the source of the noise.

"My, my. The two of you sure seem 'close'."

And old lady behind a counter had a knowing smile plastered on her wrinkled old face.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'Close?'

The old woman _had_ to be demented. The only thing the blond was close to right now was strangulation… He would never EVER wear something THAT repulsive damn it!

"Why don't I help the two of you out."

Help, help was good. Sasuke moved to bow out of gratitude but was janked back rather forcefully. He turned to smack the idiot responsible before realizing customs were probably different around here.

The old woman laughed kindly. "The two of you are something else. You'll do great together. Now let's go find you something to wear deary."

The old woman stepped away from the counter and walked towards them, observed Sasuke a bit, walked around him and hummed approvingly.

She had to have some skill to be able to determine a person's measurements without using a measuring tape or even touching the customer.

"Aren't you a good-looking lad."

Had this been an actual anime, overly huge sweat drops would have appeared and gravity would have caused him to fall to the ground.

This however was real life and not some anime, so Sasuke settled for an incredulous stare instead. 'She'd definitely demented…'

"I think blue would suit you nicely! And perhaps a little bit of white?"

The infamous eyebrow threatened to rise…

"I can make it dark-blue so you'll both be satisfied. Compromising after all is an important ingredient to the stew that is love and all matters of the heart."

And up it went…the eyebrow.

'She's not demented…she's on drugs.'

**Naruto P.O.V.**

If he had to help Sasuke pick ONE more time between two friggin' shirts that looked almost exactly the same, he would murder someone.

As if the pants hadn't been enough!

Two kami-damned hours moping about there not being enough pockets, then about a zipper that 'just didn't look right'. And let's not forget the colour!

Naruto now knew there were several different shades of white!

How utterly…stupid.

Like he actually wanted to know. Now there 'seemed to be something missing' on the shirt the brunet had chosen. Which took another 15 minutes of pondering on what that something was. The old lady, Naruto's only hope at redemption, actually joined in…

The two of them were staring intensely at a blue shirt, frowns on their faces.

They had yet to move…

Naruto seriously had to fight the urge to go and find a stick to poke Sasuke with until he got some sort of reaction…

Before such plans could be executed however, movement was detected.

'Finally!'

The grin quickly left his face…

'He scratched his nose? That was it! Kami help me! The guy must've been a woman in a previous life or something!'

"Come on Sasuke! Hurry up! We'll never make it home at this rate!"

"Shut up and have a little patience dobe. Clothes are an important part of first impressions. Surely you've been taught that much."

The tension in the room was building up again. Only this time there wasn't a pleasant feel to it. That last jibe had been a parental implication. One of the few types of comments Naruto took personally…

"Now, now. You two boys mustn't argue. Teasing may be good for a good relationship, but fighting isn't. Now kiss and make up."

"Could you _please_ just hurry up a little bit? We still have a long way to go and we won't reach home before nightfall this way. Walking in the dark really isn't my idea of ideal travelling." Naruto looked at Sasuke with pleading eyes…who, being Sasuke and all, couldn't resist.

"Fine. This shirt will do."

"Are you sure sweaty?"

Sasuke nodded, Naruto nearly jumped for joy.

"Now, let's go see you try them on!"

This time it was Naruto's turn to raise an eyebrow, Sasuke was rubbing off on him…

But that was beside the point. Did she mean she wanted to see Sasuke in his chosen outfit or did she want to see him get changed _into_ his chosen outfit?

This old lady was probably one of the freakiest he had ever met.

Tsunade still ranked number one though, she was one fucked up old lady.

Whoever heard of an old woman with a breast size like that and pretend to be a 20 year old while parading around in a jutsu that made her _look_ like a 20 year old.

That and the monstrous strength…

Naruto wouldn't be surprised if Tsunade would be able to move the mountain in which the hokage's carved faces were eternalised with bare hands.

Speaking of carved faces. Tsunade's should be added in a few weeks. He wondered if they had found out about his little 'change' in the original plans…Heh.

He may have grown up, but that didn't mean he quit being a prankster.

The day he retired, if he lived that long, he would start pulling pranks full-time again.

But like he said, _if_ he lived that long. Most shinobi didn't exactly live very long. Especially hokage's.

They were expected to lay their life on the line even more so then 'common' nin.

The entire village's well-being rested upon their shoulders. That was part of the reason Naruto wanted to be one.

He wanted people to respect and acknowledge him for who he was. Maybe the people wouldn't see him as the monster they made him out to be anymore. He never did quite get it why they did so in the first place, but somewhere along the way he lost the will to argue with them. Nowadays, whenever one of the villagers made a nasty remark, he would simply grin at them. He let them think it didn't affect him in any way.

Then eventually they'd get tired of it and stop looking at him that way. It hadn't worked yet…but perhaps some day. Yeah right…

What was most surprising however, he more or less argued with Sasuke non-stop. It was the first time in several years he had had the energy to fight back.

The blonds thoughts were interrupted as Sasuke stepped out of the dressing room.

He was now out of those odd clothes that made up for samurai fashion and was wearing a blue shirt, that showed off his creamy white skin. White shorts made the pale skin even more delicious looking.

The samurai almost looked like a shinobi, minus the footwear. But that wouldn't be much of a problem. The particular ones he was wearing were common even in the streets of Konoha.

"You look great!"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah I do! You kind of remind me of those guys from this old clan I know. Now that I think of it, your last name is kind of similar too."

"What do you mean similar?"

"Well, you're an Uchiha. I have a team-mate that's part of that clan. You actually kinda look like him. Same dark hair, the face, eyes." 'Personality…or lack thereof…'

"You guys could be related!"

Naruto said as he handed the old woman the money for the clothes.

Sasuke looked pensive for a moment before looking up with an unreadable look on his face.

"A long time ago there was a 'dispute' within our clan, no, more like a civil war."

Naruto put his change back into his frog-wallet.

"A civil war? About what?"

The two of them walked out of the shop. Sasuke's old clothes neatly folded and stowed away in Naruto's backpack.

"I'm not sure. We never got to hear the full version. Rumour has it there was a disagreement about some sort of power. They never said what this 'power' meant though. All we were told is that the family divided into two different households over 100 years ago. Eventually it became so bad, one of the groups was forced to leave the village… They never came back…"

"Wow! So what if these guys are like your long lost relatives!"

"It's possible…"

"I bet I could ask my team-mate, him being an Uchiwa and all. His name's Sai and like I said, you look like him. Minus the weird behaviour though…"

"Weird behaviour?"

"Yeah, he always smiles. That and he seems to have a weird obsession with 'penises'…

Like I said, weird."

"How can anyone be obsessed with…the male anatomy."

"I have no idea. Looking at the way he dresses, it's not really surprising… Don't ask. You'll see when we get there."

3 3 3

Naruto was humming. They had crossed the waters of the Water Country and were heading towards Konoha. Surprisingly enough, Sasuke initiated a conversation.

"How much further is it?"

"About one hour on foot."

"By the way, you said 'team-mates' as in plural? Who are the others?"

"Well, like I said, there's Uchiwa Sai, Sasame-chan and our teacher Yamato-sensei."

"What are they like?"

"Well, Sasame-chan is really pretty, bit a bit of a tomboy. She has read hair and she's a medic nin, that's kind of like a ninja doctor."

The two boys turned left at a fork in the road.

"Then there's Yamato-sensei. He's just creepy, he's got this freaky stare he uses to scare people into doing whatever he tells them to do."

Naruto shivered at the thought.

"He can be really nice though. I'll bet you'll really like Iruka-sensei though!"

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yeah, he's my former academy teacher. He's dating this scarecrow-like guy named Kakashi."

"Academy?"

Sasuke seemed to be sincerely interested in all of this.

"It's where we learn to be shinobi's."

Naruto pulled some items out of the holster on his leg.

"You see these star like thingies? These are called shuriken. And this one, this is a kunai, kind of like a knife or dagger. These I don't use much. They're Senbon, kind of like needles, you can use them with poison for example."

Naruto put them back into the weapons pouch and pulled something out of the tiny holster on his shoulder.

"This is a scroll. This one isn't really that effective, but it has it's use every once in a while. Scrolls are used for all sorts of stuff. Like summoning, healing and communicating. This is a basic healing one."

Naruto placed it back in the place it had come from and opened his pouch again.

"I almost forgot about these…"

He blushed and pulled out something that looked like stickers and golf-ball sized brown balls.

"The paper things are tags. I only carry the explosive type. There's lots of different ones, but this is the most commonly used. Just attach one of these babies to what you want to blow up, add a little chakra to the mix. And bang! The more chakra you use the longer it takes for them to blow up."

Sasuke seemed to be a little wary of the explosive tags, Naruto would have laughed, but that would have certainly dragged the Uchiha out of his inquisitive state, and Naruto was enjoying teaching others stuff. He now knew why Iruka-sensei liked his job so much.

"These things are smoke bombs! If you're ever in a jam, use one of these! They create smoke ones they make an impact. They come in all sorts of colours, but the coloured ones are for kids. Mine are standard grey."

He stuffed the previous items back in their rightful place and took out the tiny brown pills.

"Last but not least, soldier pills. The things you refused to eat. They restore a persons energy and gives them the essential vitamins and stuff they need, it takes away hunger too. Don't eat too much though, not good for your health. Here! Try one!"

Sasuke looked rather hesitant, but reached out and gingerly put it to his lips.

"You should feel your energy returning soon enough."

Sasuke looked at him rather sceptically, Naruto kept grinning though, he after all had been eating them for years.

The shocked look on the brunets face was hilarious.

"See?"

Never one to admit making a mistake, Sasuke changed the subject.

"You mentioned something called chakra?"

"Ummm, chakra is kind of like blood. It courses through our body and is attached to our organs and stuff. It's kind of like 'life energy' so to speak. We use it in jutsu's, that's ninja techniques by the way."

He had Sasuke's full attention again. The samurai was staring at him, barely keeping an eye on the road ahead.

"There's three different types of jutsu's. There's ninjutsu, your basic type of jutsu's like kage-bunshin. Genjutsu, illusions and the sort, and taijutsu hand to hand combat. That Lee guy I mentioned? He's a taijutsu-expert. You should see him move! It's no wonder he was promoted!"

"Promoted?"

"Oh...right. We shinobi, our word for ninja, have different ranks. Were divided into academy students, genin, like me, chuunin and jounin. Once you graduate the academy you become a genin."

"You're a rookie shinobi then?"

Naruto puffed his chest.

"No, I've been a genin for a while now, I just have the bad luck of being on missions while the exams are held."

'No doubt the elders are behind that one…'

"This info-gathering mission could mean my promotion though! I've been taking extra hard missions so I'll be prepared!"

"And your team-mates? They're genin as well?"

"Yeah, minus our sensei of course, he's a former Anbu."

"Anbu?"

"That's another rank. I'll get to that one in a minute. After you pass the exams, you become a chuunin. Then there's the jounin level. That's basically the highest people go.

But for the really good ones, there's the Anbu. They're elite shinobi that get handed the most important of missions.

Assassination is their number one skill. They have several divisions within their organisation, one of them is called the 'Hunter Nins'."

Naruto cleared his throat before continuing.

"Hunter nin hunt down renegade shinobi's, who are called missing nin. Then there's the ones that guard important people. Those guys are all pretty mysterious though. There's not much to tell about the Anbu unless you're one of them. Even then you're probably sworn to secrecy.

Anyways, the big honcho that calls the shots is know as the Kage. Kage's protect and govern the hidden village they belong to. They'll die protecting their people if necessary."

Sasuke looked somewhat impressed about that.

"Ya know, amongst them was this really cool guy. Yondaime, aka the fourth Hokage. He died while fighting this huge demon known as the Kyuubi. He's my hero!"

"Kyuubi? Why would anyone want to attack a deity?"

"First of all, I have no idea what a deity is. Second of all, the overgrown rat nearly destroyed

our home and massacred our people."

"Why would it want to do that?"

"We didn't exactly stop to ask it what was wrong." Naruto replied sarcastically.

"A deity is something like a god. People worship them and give them sacrifices to keep the appeased."

"Sacrifices! As in you let it eat people!"

"No. Stuff like food and incense idiot. Kyuubi was known as a protector of innocents, he was mostly worshipped in the northern regions of this continent."

"Was?"

"He just disappeared some day…Most likely this Yondaime person defeated it."

"More like killed it."

"You can't kill a god moron."

"Yes you can! How else do you think Yondaime stopped it!"

"Kyuubi is immortal, it can NOT be killed. Now trapping it I would believe."

"Trapping it? With what? A giant mouse-trap? Must've been a huge one."

Sasuke let that comment slide.

"I don't know how they trapped it. They must have sealed it away or something…"

"I wonder where though. The object has to be HUGE to be able to fir that fur ball."

"How should I know? Go find that out on your own!"

"You expect me to go 'treasure seeking' with my only clue being given by a person that believed Shinobi's were some sort of wizards? When the source is unreliable, we call it a wild chicken chase!"

"The correct term would be 'wild goose chase'. Usuratonkachi…"

"Whatever bastard, you know what I meant. Besides I see 'em as I call 'em. And your hair looks like a chicken."

"And that would be call them as I see them. And my hair does NOT look like a chicken."

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

"Let my guess, you're not talking to me?"

"You've got THAT right!"

"Then if you don't mind me asking, why are you still talking? I was looking forward to a little piece and quiet after that longwinded speech of yours."

"Do you enjoy making fun of me!"

Sasuke turned his head away from Naruto, his long dark bangs coming in handy to hide the smile on his face.

"Let's just hurry up dobe, or we won't make it by nightfall."

"Answer me dammit! And it's your fault we're late to begin with!"

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke started to laugh. Not chuckle, smirk or even smile, but a nice gentle laugh. A rich pleasant sounding noise that could only be described as laughter.

"Boy, you sure are cheery all of a sudden. What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing dobe, let's just hurry."

He was smiling again.

For the first time, since he had met him, he seemed calm and serene.

"You should smile more often ya know. It's not as if your face is going to crack…"

"I haven't had a reason to smile in a long, long time…"

Sasuke seemed rather uncomfortable about this subject.

"You know he hits my mother. You've seen the way they act."

'His father…'

"He always has, as far as I can remember anyways. Mother used to talk about how much she loved him, after a while that just stopped. She started to put all her love and affection into me and my brother, mainly my brother."

That particular look of hatred was on Sasuke's face again. Naruto decided he didn't like it at all.

"My brother was always everyone's favourite. The perfect older brother, the prodigy. I despised him. At first it was all about attention. Then my entire place in the family. He tried to practically run me out, or at least it felt like he tried to.

Whenever I tried my best to be good at something, he would do the same and surpass me in a short period of time. He was older then me and he was naturally gifted. No matter how hard I tried, I never once managed to surpass him…"

Naruto flinched. He had always imagined it would be great to have sibling, being an only child and all.

"That wasn't the worst part though. He always tried to make me look like some sort of idiot, I got sick of it. Soon I stopped trying to surpass him altogether… It just seemed so futile all of a sudden. They didn't notice me either way."

Sasuke seemed hesitant about continuing, but did so anyway.

"After I got a little older, a little boy moved into town. He appeared to be an orphan. Jiraiya kept quiet about his background though. People didn't trust that boy at all. The area surrounding our home was filled with dangerous animals, mostly carnivores. It was a mystery to them how a little kid managed to walk around in that forest without getting into even the slightest of trouble. Especially in the shell-shocked state he was in, he was practically catatonic, crying out something about his mother and father. Mostly his father."

The word father sounded like venom, the way Sasuke pronounced it.

"Jiraiya took him to his place. When they came out, it was decided the boy was to live in our village. We learned his name was Haku. It didn't take long for him to find a place in our 'society' though. People melted when they looked at his innocent face. The two of us became close…"

As Sasuke blushed, Naruto felt a pang of jealousy.

He didn't let it show though.

'When Haku and I got older, a man came to our village. A shinobi like you. This was before the 'war'. Haku fell in love almost instantly and pretty much forgot about being careful around strangers. It didn't matter how many times we warned him. Eventually that's what got him killed."

Sasuke stopped talking for quite some time. Swallowing the lump that was forming, he mentally relived the horrific scene from his past.

"The man was known as Zabuza. He decided to leave the village. It's safe to say we didn't complain. But then Haku wanted to go with him, saying stuff like 'bloodline limits' and about being a shinobi as well. That this Zabuza guy was going to teach him to become a great shinobi like that man."

The brunet stared at the ground.

"I tried to convince him to stay. He just wouldn't listen…He left regardless of how much I begged and pleaded. Then another shinobi came along and killed both of them…We didn't even give them a decent burial, the people were too afraid the shinobi that killed them was going to come back."

Zabuza…

Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Did that Zabuza guy have this huge sword?"

Sasuke looked up in surprise.

"As a matter of fact, yes he did."

"No wonder it sounded familiar. I don't know the whole story, but near the Water Country somewhere, there's this hidden village. Some time ago, there were these bad-ass duded. They wielded huge swords. They all left after trying to kill their Kage and take over their village though. They're missing nin. The shinobi that killed them was probably a hunter nin."

Naruto nodded, he was sure of it. Zabuza was one of them.

"He probably showed up on your doorstep to hide for a while. Sorry to hear your 'friend' was caught up in it…"

"It's alright."

The two of them walked in silence the rest of the way. A comfortable silence though.

Soon the gates of Konoha came into view…

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Welcome to yet another chapter of madness . 

It's a bit later then usual, but I come bearing good news! I graduated!

Finally after months of preparing and toiling away, I've earned my dimploma!

On to the next school!

Warnings for this chapter:

As always language

Slight adult situations

Many poor attempts at humor

Slight character bashing/insulting...heh

Enjoy!

**Chapter 13!**

**Of falling fanpeople and rub-a-dub-dubs**

**Naruto P.O.V.**

Naruto couldn't be happier when he saw the gates of Konoha grow bigger with every step.

His new life with Sasuke was about to begin!

He finally wouldn't have to live alone anymore!

Unless Sasuke wanted a place of his own…

He sure didn't hope so. Still, even if Sasuke didn't want to live with him, they'd still get to see each other…when Naruto wasn't on missions…and if Sasuke was allowed to stay in the first place.

'Yosh! No more depressing thoughts!'

"Well, were here!"

Naruto said as they stood before the gate. "I can see that moron. As if those huge doors weren't a dead give away."

"Jerk…"

The gates opened and two guards stepped forward.

"Back so soon Naruto? Did you bungle your mission already?"

"Shut up Kiba! I didn't mess up!"

'Damn that Kiba…'

Why did the guy always have to be such a jerk, he really didn't know. His dog was just as foul tempered…

"Wait a second... Where's Akamaru?"

"Sniffing your boyfriends ass…Who is he anyways?"

Naruto turned around and was faced with Sasuke's rather miffed, albeit amusing face.

"He's-"

"I'm his fiancé. Now could you get your dog to leave me alone?"

"That's right! Wait a second…what!"

Sasuke's arm ensnared Naruto's lithe waist.

To any other person it looked like a loving gesture…however, the pressure of said arm proved it to be quite the opposite. To Naruto it was more of a 'play along or I'll kill you' gesture.

"Now honey, you don't have to be shy. I know you wanted to wait with telling everyone, but he appears to be a friend of yours right? He has a right to know about us."

The grip grew tighter.

"Right?"

"R-right…Guys meet Sasuke, my fiancé."

The second guard who had been silent for a while stepped forward.

"Congratulations Naruto on your coupling. May you and your mate be happy as the cicada during mating season."

"Ehhhhh, thanks Shino…really."

Shino was not the kind of guy Naruto was comfortable with. In fact, that's probably the biggest sentence he ever heard from the guy.

"Can we go in now? I have to get to the old hag."

"Yeah Naruto, go and report your failure."

"Drop dead Kiba! You and your mutt too!"

The two shinobi's gave the okay and allowed the two to go through. The two odd young men returned to their posts after waving, Akamaru following them with his tail cheerfully wagging.

Soon the grass and trees lessened and the first few buildings came into view.

It was good to be home…

"We'll head over to Tsunade-baba first, then I'll take you home. You're probably tired."

Sasuke snorted.

Naruto let it slide on account of his good mood and walked towards a huge red tower.

"Who is this Tsunade anyways?"

"She's the current Hokage, the fifth to be exact. She's like 50 or something, but she uses this jutsu to make her look younger…a lot younger."

Naruto winked.

"By the way. Mind telling me when exactly we got engaged?"

"About five minutes ago…give or take a few seconds."

"Would you at least be serious!"

"I am very serious. Besides, it was the fastest way to get in here. Not to mention the easiest one."

Naruto grinned. Tsunade really was going to kill him, but this would be an absolutely spectacular prank. Probably even better then the stunt he pulled on Tsunade's 'Hokage mountain Carving project'. Well, no plan could be better then that…but almost as good was good enough!

"Naruto-nichan! You're back!"

Three oddly dressed kids ran up to the pair.

Naruto knew them as Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, three young academy students.

"We missed you!"

Sasuke looked at the kids and then back at Naruto.

"Are these friends of yours as well?"

"Not really, just some kids that-"

That was all he managed to get out before being tackled to the ground in a big group hug.

"Yeah, I missed you guys too! Now get off! You're cramping my style!"

Konohamaru looked confused, clearly not knowing the meaning of that expression.

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, I was wondering that myself."

His comment had more of a 'what style' type of approach…

Moegi froze in her place, staring at the 'newcomer' in amazement, a blush on her tiny face.

"Who are you mister?"

"Yeah, and what are you doing with Naruto-nichan?"

Konohamaru once again 'innocently' pointed out as he looked at Sasuke's arm, still wrapped securely around Naruto's waist.

The two of them had been walking around like that the whole time.

"Ummmm, this is Sasuke…he's my fiancé."

"WHAT!" The three shouted in unison.

"Naruto-nichan! You're going to marry this guy!"

"Yeah. Sorta…"

Things grew silent for a while, until Konohamaru once again broke the silence.

"He's a real looker! Nice going leader!"

Naruto blushed like crazy.

"Konohamaru! Don't talk about Sasuke as if he's not here!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Then stop doing it yourself, you're the one setting a bad example. Now if you three could excuse us, we have something important to discuss with Tsunade-sama. I'll return Naruto to you shortly."

Naruto grumbled. 'Like they're actually going to listen to him.'

Konohamaru and his friends were just as hard to get rid of as a bad odour…

"Right, you two want some time 'alone' huh…"

'See? Leave it to Konohamaru to-'

"Later Naruto-nichan!"

'What the-'

"Now can we hurry dobe? If you're done gaping like a fish that is…"

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make them go away? You're great with kids! Glad I'm marrying you!"

"First of all, we're both male. We can't have kids. Second, we're just pretending to get me in here, remember?"

"R-right, must've forgotten or something…"

"Moron."

"Hey!"

Sasuke P.O.V.

_This_ was Tsunade?

She sure as HELL didn't look anything like a 50 year old granny.

And the size of those-

'Must. Not. Stare. But it's really hard to, I mean LOOK at them! Bad Uchiha! You're here with your fiancé! Show some backbone!'

Fiancé…

Now he had to admit, he didn't really think it over before blurting it out. But it could serve its purposes later on….like now for example.

"It's about time you showed up brat. I received your note hours ago."

Naruto couldn't take this 'stain' on his reputation sitting down of course.

"Heh, you KNOW I did it faster then anyone else could have, old hag."

Tsunade couldn't exactly fall behind and smacked him. An ancient ritual of 'acceptance' between the two of them.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted… The matter you spoke of will be investigated as soon as possible. Now that business is out of the way…What's this about you getting engaged?"

"Oh! Right! Granny, meet Sasuke."

The big….eyes were now pointed in his direction.

"You're the fiancé I keep hearing about?"

'Keep hearing? How fast does news travel around here…'

"Yes I am Hokage-sama."

"Well, at least you're polite. Sai's not going to like this…is he."

The 'old lady' smirked. This Sai person, wasn't he Naruto's teammate?

"Why would Naruto's team-mate object to us having a relationship?"

"Simple. Sai's been after Naruto's ass ever since graduating from the academy. Your fiancé kept turning him down. One of his reasons was 'I don't date the tall, dark and ugly types' and since the two of you resemble each other enough to be twins…"

Some guy was after Naruto's ass?

"He's probably going to be a tad bit resentful towards the two of you."

"I can handle one jealous team-mate."

"Sure kid, I believe you."

That statement would have probably been a lot more credible, hadn't she broken down with laughter.

"I don't see how he could pose a threat… The two of us are 'together' regardless of his opinion."

"Glad to hear you're so spirited about this kid. You're gonna need it. Especially when Iruka finds out his 'little girl' is getting married. I doubt he suspected to become 'father of the bride' this soon."

Iruka…Naruto had definitely mentioned him before…

"You got a last name kid?"

"Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha you said? Sai is _definitely_ going to be angry now."

"What does my last name have anything to do with it?"

"I'll let you figure that one out on your own."

Tsunade seemed to be scribbling something down on a piece of paper, double-checked the things she wrote down and called in an assistant.

The assistant looked at the piece of paper as if it had gotten up and started serenading.

"Very well, the two of you can get out of here."

"Hokage-sama. If you don't mind me asking, what was on the paper?"

"The official announcement of course. When the two of you get married, you'll be an official citizen of Konoha."

'Oh….my…god. It backfired…'

Sasuke looked at Naruto, hoping he would take it well. There was no way he could go home now, his father would murder him. Not that he wouldn't put up a fight, but the man had several years more experience. That, and Sasuke was born in a time of piece. Sasuke had never been forced to defend against an angry horde of invaders.

Yet another form of experience he lacked. The only thing close to a true battle he had ever experienced had been with the recent shinobi-assaults.

The old bastard would kill him…

Sasuke hadn't planned on ACTUALLY getting married yet. Who knows, maybe someday, but this sudden? But then again, if marrying Naruto was the answer to all of his problems, he would literally drag the idiot down the isle if necessary.

It didn't matter if Naruto liked the idea or not. Sasuke was NOT going back.

(AN: 0-0 Talk about eager . )

To his surprise however, Naruto didn't seem all that reluctant. For some reason he even seemed rather 'happy' about it…

And if it's one thing he had learned while being on the road with him, it's that a 'happy' Naruto is something to be careful about…

The endless rants about Ramen and its godliness were still fresh in his mind. He already hated it and he hadn't even eaten it.

It was practically inhuman to keep going on and on about the same subject, the only things that seemed to stop the idiot during a 'ramen-rant' was the prospect of ramen or the lack of air finally catching up…

Like he actually wanted to know about the many 'different exotic flavours of ramen'.

(AN: Weren't you the one going on and on about clothes? XD)

"Well, get going you two. You have better things to do then sit around in my office. Go and christen you marriage or something."

'Wait a second what?'

"Unless you're actually planning on using my office. In that case, be my guest, I don't mind stepping out for a bit. Just clean up when you're done."

'Again WHAT!'

"You perverted old hag! What do you think we are! A bunch of teenage hormone driven- Wait a sec…don't answer that…."

"Let's just go going dobe."

"Didn't I tell you NOT to call me that?"

"Haven't you figured out that after the first time you told me 'not to call you that' and I still did it, that I wasn't going to listen?"

"Bastard…"

Sasuke seriously wasn't in the mood to start yet another argument.

Suddenly marriage didn't seem like such a 'fool-proof' idea anymore….

**? P.O.V.**

"What exactly do you mean with 'it's not him'?"

Deidara was not having a good time. The silky feminine kimono had been discarded, a red and black cloak now in it's place.

"Very simple my idiotic companion, the jinchuuriki is from Konoha, not Sound."

Itachi was holding the severed head of the former Sound-nin. Yet another village was filled with the horrid smell of smoke and blood. The two oddly dressed young men didn't seem bothered by it at all though.

"How was I supposed to know, you didn't TELL me he was from Konoha! In fact, you barely talk at all! You got a personality disorder or something yeah?"

The Uchiha-glare™ was carried out to deadly perfection. It didn't seem to work against blond people though. If it was because Deidara was too ignorant or too innocent, the Uchiha didn't know, nor was he aware his little brother had similar problems with a certain blond back in Konoha…

"If you're so smart, then _where_ is he, yeah!"

The smouldering black eyes opened, only to reveal stunning red ones.

"I suggest you shut your mouth, all three of them."

Itachi pointed at Deidara's hands. They each contained a rather 'strange' opening, which upon closer examination turned out to be mouths.

"Is that a threat Uchiha?"

The blond who had been previously sitting on the Sound-nins mangled corpse, now jumped up, grabbing what seemed to be some sort of clay.

"Hn. You're even more annoying then Kisame."

A slightly wet, blue skinned man walked towards the pair, his sneezing alerting them of his presence.

"Don't talk trash behind my back Itachi-san. Besides, you shouldn't treat your wife like that."

The shark-like man grinned maliciously.

"Yeah! You shouldn't treat your wife- Hey!"

The other two men laughed, or rather the blue one known as Kisame laughed. Itachi smirked and let out a sound that indicated amusement.

After all, an Akatsuki member did _not_ laugh. Well, except for Kisame…and Zetsu.

And DAMN IT he was doing that thing again! Even _with_ his family dead he was still talking that way. And he was pretty damn sure they were all dead, after all, he killed them himself. All of them except-

"The blond."

Kisame looked surprised.

"What blond? Mister hand job extraordinaire over there?"

"You wish fish-boy, you're the one taking 'blue balls' to a new level, yeah!"

"No. The one my otouto had with him."

"Oh, you mean the cute one with the whiskers?"

The former pet-fish, now a full-grown male, smacked himself in the face.

"Well duh. Talk about obvious."

Deidara, still miffed about the 'humorous' comments he received, showed a bit of his explosive personality as he tossed the clay onto the corpse he had been sitting on.

As it exploded, blood and guts were send flying.

"Real nice Deidara."

Kisame said as he removed _something_ from his still drying cloak.

"This is YOUR fault Uchiha!"

"How is this Itachi-sans fault? He is the one that pointed it out."

"Because it's _his_ jinchuuriki and he should have pointed it out sooner! So yeah it's his fault!"

Itachi had enough.

The sharingan wheels started to spin, knocking Deidara out like a light. He fell to the ground mumbling random stuff about jerks, fishes and stupid dresses.

Kisame caught his falling body before it hit the ground, he looked like he would have rather just let him drop though.

"We could just use paint, cut off his hair and make him wear orange. No one would be able to tell the difference. He has it coming. Besides, he didn't have to pretend to be a fish and freeze his ass of in a pond while pretending to be someone's pet-fish. Lucky I can breath under water…"

The sharingan faded.

When Itachi wanted to join Akatsuki, Kisame had come with him to his home and pretend to be his fish. This way it would be easy for him to assist in getting away from the rather twisted family the boy had grown up in. No wonder he became a criminal…

Their leader had asked for a repeated performance on account of the…sensitivity of the subject. So upon arriving, Kisame dropped the simple genjutsu he had placed on the pond and took the illusionary fish' place.

Speaking of their leader, it was probably best not to mention this little misunderstanding to him. Deidara seemed like an angel compared to that guy if it came to their ability to 'over-react'.

If Deidara was a stick of dynamite, their leader was a factory filled with landmines…with a big sign at the front stating 'tread cautiously'.

"So now what?"

Itachi looked in Kisame's direction.

"The same…"

(AN:…..thing we do every night, try to take over the WORLD! X3)

"You mean follow their trail only to reach another dead-end?"

"Just the following part will do Kisame."

Kisame laughed. His partner was….interesting to say the least.

"Just remind me never to take another mission with this idiot EVER again."

Kisame huffed. (AN: And puffed . )

"I don't see why I couldn't be your partner from the start Itachi-san."

Itachi smirked and made the not-laughter-yet-still-amusement-sound.

"Because you're too ugly. Do you really think my parents would allow me to marry an _obviously _cross-dressing blue skinned man that so happens to look like my pet fish?"

"You're never going to let me forget this are you…Besides, there's nothing a good genjutsu can't fix."

"There are wards around the village that prevent people from using genjutsu. Only those with huge amounts of chakra or superior chakra-control, can use genjutsu within this village."

"Which means you could have used genjutsu Itachi-san."

"Using genjutsu for two days straight?"

"Right…your energy levels…I still don't understand how you could have mixed up this guy with your jinchuuriki though. You NEVER make mistakes."

"I sensed a huge amount of chakra on the night of the celebration. Someone had been suppressing it the whole time. Since this guy was the 'only' shinobi in the area, most people with common sense would make the assumption that man would be the one…  
Hence why I've never believed in common sense."

(AN: Now _there's_ an understatement if I ever heard one 0-0)

"Heh. I still wouldn't have believed 'Uchiha Itachi' messed up, if I hadn't been there myself."

"Enough talking, we need to hurry. It will be a lot harder to infiltrate Konoha then some common village."

"You're right, as usual."

Kisame lifted the blond onto his shoulder and started walking.

Itachi turned towards a burning house. There, on the floor near the open sliding doors, where the remains of what had once been his parents.

His foolish little brother would be joining them soon.

It simply would not do for something as precious as a jinchuuriki to be left in the care of a whimpering child. The whittles boy was weak and ignorant.

It wouldn't take much to take the jinchuuriki from him though. The blond shinobi would be in Akatsuki's possession soon enough.

**Naruto P.O.V.**

'I still can't believe me and Sasuke are going to get married.'

Naruto grabbed his keys and started to unlock the door to his house, while taking sneak-peaks at Sasuke.

'Iruka-sensei is going to kill me…'

The door opened, revealing a rather modest apartment.

"Well, this is it. It's nothing much, but it's home."

Naruto grinned while scratching his head.

He hadn't really planned on getting married _before_ he became a Hokage. His apartment wasn't exactly a place he wanted to 'take someone home' to.

The only ones that came over every once in a while were Iruka-sensei, Sai and Sasame.

The latter two had been there once or twice, but always left rather quickly.

"It's…homey."

"Homey? I guess you could call it that…Sorry it's not as fancy as your parents place though."

"It's fine. I never liked that house much to begin with."

"Eheheh…yeah. They say it's the people that make for a home…sorry shouldn't have said that."

"I don't mind, it's the truth. Would you show me around?"

'Changing the subject huh…Can't blame you.'

"Alright! Follow me!"

**Naruto P.O.V.**

"And this is the bedroom! Like I said, the place isn't that big…"

'Wait a sec… If the two of us get married, won't we be sleeping in the same-'

Naruto blushed and attempted to close the door. It was best to avoid embarrassing situations while you were ahead.

Sasuke however had other ideas in mind…

(AN: I think we ALL have other ideas in our minds 3)

"That thing called a 'bed' is something you sleep on?"

"Oh right. You're used to futon's aren't you."

Naruto scratched his head.

"Yeah we sleep on that. That old pervy guy Jira- something had them too. You really never seen one before?"

"No. I didn't exactly visit Jiraiya when it wasn't necessary. Personally I wouldn't be caught dead in his bedroom…"

"Yeah, I can imagine that…"

The blond looked out of the bedroom-window. The sun was already setting.

"It's actually a lot later then I thought. How about dinner and a shower and then going to bed? I'll give you a full tour of Konoha tomorrow!"

"Whatever dobe"

"Would you stop calling me that?"

"No."

"Jerk…let's just eat."

If this was Sasuke's idea of a pet name, he really didn't like it…

'Perhaps I should get one for him too…like jackass….let's see how HE likes it.'

With renewed determination Naruto strided off to the kitchen and checked the cupboards.

'I need to go shopping tomorrow…'

"Well, I hope you like ramen. I don't have anything else at the moment since I just got home and all…"

"It's alright. I didn't expect someone like you to be very skilled with kitchen utensils to begin with.´

"HEY! I know how to cook!"

"I never said anything about you not being able to cook, I said you're probably no good at it."

"And we're supposed to get married? All we ever do is argue!"

"Isn't that the whole point of getting married? Well that and having brats. And since I don't see anything like that happening any day soon, we might as well have fights. It's only natural."

Naruto stared and stared.

"You have _one_ depressing look on life you know that?"

Naruto grabbed the instant-ramen-cups and put some water in the boiler.

The two sat down in silence, determined not to look at each other.

The sound of a high-pitched whistle signalled the water was ready.

Naruto poured it into the cups, grabbed two pairs of chopsticks and sat back down.

"Itadakimasu!"

He noticed Sasuke wasn't making a move to pick up his chop sticks-though.

"What? No good?"

"How is this stuff supposed to be food? It's hot water in a cup with…stuff."

This time it was Naruto who almost suffered a fatal heart attack.

"You did NOT just insult ramen."

"I didn't. I just find it hard to believe you're so obsessed about this stuff"

This was going to be one long dinner…

**Sasuke P.O.V.**

"The shower is over here…"

Naruto pointed towards a door located in the bedroom.

"I trust you've seen a shower before?"

'Like I'm actually going to give you a change to start yet another rant that will most likely involve ramen…'

"Hn. Whatever."

"And a 'whatever' to you too, you can leave your clothes on the bed, I'll clean them later. There's towels and stuff in the closet over there."

The door closed, now to find out what a shower was exactly…

It couldn't be that different from the things he was used to back home. A bed was like a futon on legs…right?

Sasuke cautiously opened the door.

True, it was slightly different…

As in no bath….at all.

Just two water taps, only bigger then the smaller ones they used to tap water from to rinse themselves off before they stepped into the bath. It seemed simple enough.

He didn't exactly get it why there were two of them.

Perhaps it was made for two people?

The brunet closed the bathroom door and walked towards the bed.

He peeled of his sweat-soaked shirt and tossed it on the bed.

As he fumbled with the buttons on his pants, he couldn't help but feel some sort of strange sense of pending doom and couldn't shake off the horrible feeling of being watched…

It was probably nothing though, just the stressful conditions he had been living in for the past 5 days. Or should he say 7? Just meeting Naruto seemed stressful enough as it is.

How in the world was he going to live with the guy for the rest of his life?

He sighed. A hot shower would probably ease him up a bit.

**? P.O.V.**

"You can't be serious! Someone who looks just like Sai?"

"Yeah really! He was walking with _that_ boy!"

"Awww, how come it's always him that gets a lucky break! He always manages to get the good ones to chase after his-"

"It's not that dear. You know the old saying. 'All the good ones are either taken, gay or both.' For some odd reason they're mostly gay in this town…"

Indeed, the whole village of konoha was buzzing with the latest gossip.

From young women to elderly ladies, they all joined in, sharing their side of the story.

As if gossip wasn't dangerous enough, it became lethal when reaching obsessive stalker ears.

And it so happened a young stalker by the name of Yamakana Ino walked around the corner she had been 'minding her own business' in with a strange smile on her face.

The pale blond hair seemed to flow behind her as she walked. As if the creepy hair wasn't enough, the scary vision was soon replaced by an unsightly shade of pink.

(AN: Can someone tell I don't like them? looks around Anyone?)

These two were the most dangerous stalkers around.

The queen bitches.

Heck, the leader of stalkers in the entire fire country.

(AN: Anyone yet? XD)

The pink thing seemed to be almost cackling. It was known as Haruno Sakura.

Just the mere mentioning of these two names brought fear into the hearts of bishounen all over Konoha and beyond. Their latest obsession had been Sai, one of Naruto's teammates.

The two were forced to give up when Sai had once and for all proven to the world he was gay.

For on a party about two years ago, Sai had made the death-defying move to pay some random guy to 'accidentally' push Naruto into him.

The results had been….interesting to say the least. The 'fake-kiss-scenario' was played out to absolute perfection. Sai had even managed to get some tongue in according to some lucky girls who had been sitting right beside the two boys when 'fate struck'.

The scene that followed was a little more unexpected though, Sai went a tad bit too far and slipped a hand down a certain blonds pants, pulled back from the kiss and uttered the ill-fated words 'Well I'll be damned you DO have one!'

Said words caused Naruto to 'awaken' from his initial shock and react with extreme viciousness. A fist to one of Sai's pretty dark eyes had been the result…

That and several weeks of wearing an eye patch and nearly getting addicted to the painkillers he was forced to take.

Nowadays Naruto tried to stay away from Sai as much as he could. Which is hard when you were put on the same team. Just one mentioning of 'the word' had the blond climbing trees out of fear for weeks, the word 'Penis' was as much of a taboo for Naruto as the word 'fat' was to their former class-mate and fellow shinobi Chouji…

His screams of 'Stay away from me you freak!' never ended though.

If Sai had ever had a change with Naruto, no matter how slim, he had ruined it altogether.

Sai was convinced their 'relationship would survive any obstacle' though and never gave up.

The girls were left with no other choice then to give up…

But to lose yet another good looking guy to that idiot? That was just plain cruel…

So, with plans for a fan club already forming within their twisted hormonal fangirl minds.

A couple of blocks ahead a certain young man having the sneezing fit of a lifetime.

He hadn't suffered one this big since two years ago. Not that he had the time to dwell on the matter. Sai had heard a rather disturbing rumour. A VERY disturbing one.

His territory was being invaded by a 'new guy in town'. Not that he cared much.

He had never been one to oppose to sharing. Unless it came to one thing….Uzumaki Naruto, dickless wonder extraordinaire. Or rather not so dickless.

He had confirmed that much at least, true it had almost cost him an eye, but it was a price well worth it. Naruto was _so_ innocent and Sai had been the first to touch him like that. Well, other then Naruto of course…

'Hmmm, Naruto touching himself…'

Sai smiled and walked over to his 'Naruto spotting perch'.

After the threat of Hyuuga Neji, he could withstand ANY foe he came across.

------------------------

The sight that greeted the gathering masses, all just 'randomly passing by' on top of the roof of the building looking over Naruto's bedroom, was more then they could have ever imagined.

A plain blue shirt was pulled off revealing a well-toned chest.

Just the simple flick of a wrist, used to toss the shirt on the bed, told a tale of almost royalty like grace. The entire mass of drooling peeping toms seemed to be wishing the window was just a few inches lower so that they could see the 'prize' that was revealed when this gorgeous specimen removed the remainder of his clothes.

People were randomly dropping down from the roof like flies…

**Sasuke P.O.V.**

'Ok, so this handle shouldn't be touched. Blue means cold. VERY cold.'

Figuring out how to use the water had been easy enough, picking the correct products to get clean wasn't.

He just hoped his hair didn't end up the way Naruto's hair did. As if the spikes at the back of his head weren't enough. Imagine the bangs sticking up at the front…

Not that the fluffy sunflower look wasn't adorable on Naruto, he just didn't feel like looking ridiculous.

(AN: Note! Basic pairing rule nr. 1! Seme's look emo, Uke's look cute! XD)

How was he going to be taken seriously when the mere sight of him made people laugh their asses off.

Oh well, at least the 'feeling of being watched' had lessened.

For some reason he wouldn't put it passed Naruto to spy on him just to get even.

Most likely for spying on _him_ when they first met. Not that he had really spied on the blond.

The results had been pretty nice though…that was one image that wouldn't leave his memory any day soon. Or his fantasies for that matter…

(AN: I couldn't resist a pervy Sasuke…I am ashamed --)

It was almost enough for the hormones to escape, which he had been bottling up since the day he had first hand discovered the alternative meaning to the word 'wood'.

(AN: Hand. Wood. Get it? I'll go shut up now . )

Said meaning decided to rise up (AN: NYAHAHAHA! Rise XD I'm on a roll!) from his thoughts. Naruto really was something else. It was a pity no one else seemed to realize how great the blond was. Or lucky, depending on how you looked at it.

The rather fascinating images quickly turned into full-blown raunchy 'you know what' movies in that special little way only the adolescent male mind could.

(AN: And the fangirls! Don't forget he fangirls!)

The hand that had been rubbing what Sasuke believed to be shampoo into his raven locks, slowly slid down and caressed the smooth, creamy thighs below. He imagined it was Naruto's.

A soft gentle moan escaped his lips. The ones he had been pressing together so tightly, they were turning into a completely different colour.

"Nah…ru…to…"

God he loved the way that name sounded, hell, he loved the stupid grin and the damned complaining about 'unfairness' or people – mainly Sasuke – being mean.

Sasuke's hand moved closer to it's goal. He was almost painfully erect now. The brunet placed a hand on the wall as if to keep from slipping out of reality altogether.

The soft moaning turned into panting as his fingers made contact with his aching member…

His eyes opening, without even realising he had closed them in the first place.

"Nah-Ah! Damn!"

Sasuke's 'play-time' with Sasuke jr. came to a climax soon enough….in form of the log forgotten shampoo getting into his eyes.

(AN: That's for not admitting your feelings for Naruto yet and staying away for so long!….And looking like a pirate! X3)

As if that predicament wasn't enough, a knock on the door startled him so much he slipped, hitting his tailbone on the cold, merciless ground of doom below in the process.

"Fuck!"

Another knock, this one sounding a lot more urgent then the previous one.

"Sasuke! Are you alright in there? Answer me!"

"I'm fine!"

"Like hell you are! You sound like you're in pain and you were calling for me! I'm coming in!"

'Called his name?…Oh god he heard…'

The little realisation caused him to completely forget his current 'condition'.

Had he been thinking straight at the time (AN: Which is impossible for Sasuke . ) he would have run to the bathroom door and locked it, or at least tried to convince Naruto not to come in…

It was far too late though. Naruto's 'caring' nature was stronger then any door or glare, even the Uchiha patented ones.

The glare he received in return after his 'little secret' was discovered would have outmatched it easily enough. Heck, it made the 'secret' go away…Sasuke just hoped it didn't do any permanent damage…

"I can explain!"

"You don't have to! You PERVERT!"

The door slammed shut. For someone who was usually thicker then 10 feet of concrete walls, he managed to figure out this situation easily enough. Uchiha Sasuke would later wonder if this was because the 'situation looked familiar to Naruto' and question his 'I'm not a pervert' holiness, but again, that was later.

Right now Sasuke, having been caught 'pants down' so to speak, wasn't particularly thinking before acting and rushed after Naruto after managing to get up from the slippery floor.

"Naruto! It's not what you think!"

"Like HELL it isn't! And what do you think you're doing now!"

"I'm trying to talk to you! What does it look like I'm doing!"

"You don't expect me to answer that do you!"

"Stop running!"

"Then stop chasing me _like that_!"

"I will, once you _stop running_!"

"Like HELL I will!"

The door to Naruto's apartment opened slowly and two figures cautiously made their way to the living room….

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Welcome to the new chapter!**

**I realise it's been ages since I last updated...  
Even though it's inexcusable, I do have my reasons.  
Most of them are personal, so I won't be getting into them.**

**Well, this little chapter is not only lime filled, it also features my first lemon, EVER.  
FanFictionNet users will have to check the unsensored version out at AFFnet or the SasuxNaru-lj community for the actual lemon.**

**Well, hopefully you guys will like the new chapter!  
On a side note, there is a little gift in this chapter to a close friend of mine.  
The crack-piece containing Sai can be skipped if you wish, it is merely there to amuse some of my friends.  
You can expect more of these little crack-outtakes though.**

**Warnings: Violence, language, lime, lemon.**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**  
**

**??? POV**

Once Iruka heard the 'good' news of his little Naruto getting married, he couldn't resist the mother-hen like urges that suddenly arose.

Regardless of how much Kakashi protested.

Iruka had insisted his 'baby' needed him, yet the sight that greeted him and his lover upon arriving at Naruto's apartment wasn't exactly what they'd been expecting. Well, Iruka hadn't been expecting it. Nothing could surprise Kakashi, at least not on the perverted level…

"See Iruka-chan? He doesn't need us at all, he's having fun!"

'Fun?' In Iruka's mind being chased by a naked brunet, whose sole intent was 'catching you' and most likely doing all sorts of 'wicked things' to you once he _did_ manage to catch you, was NOT a good thing. Anyone foolish enough to date someone like Kakashi would agree on the subject…

The two young men ran past the hallway again, fortunately – or unfortunately for some – the rest of the living room was blocked from their view. A loud bang was heard.

"Stay away from me you jerk! Ah! Sasuke! NO!"

Iruka did NOT like the sound of that…

"Naruto! Are you all right?!"

Kakashi sighed, mother-hen Iruka to the rescue…

Naruto POV 

'Was that Iruka-sensei's voice?! He can't see me like this!!!'

_This_ meant eagle-spread across the floor in the living room with a brunet on tops whose 'little problem' hadn't gone down quite yet.

"For GOD'S SAKE! Put some clothes on!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look down…you should feel a draft…"

And Sasuke dared to call him a moron?

How could a person NOT know he was…naked. And damn he was heavy! Especially because his….hard, yet soft skinned, milky white…muscles tensed up when…someone came in…

Now Naruto was developing a similar problem.

'Wait a second…someone? Iruka-sensei!'

Naruto turned slowly, two people were watching their little _spectacle_ unfold in front of them. This was not the way he had wanted to introduce his future spouse to the 'in-laws' so to speak…

"I can explain?"

* * *

Sasuke POV 

'Someone kill me…'

Sasuke, now fully dressed, was sitting on the living room couch next to his future 'wife'.

The people he now knew to be Iruka and Kakashi, Naruto's pseudo-parents, we're glaring at him.

Or rather the one named Iruka was glaring at him. He had no idea what Kakashi was doing below that mask, not to mention one of his eyes was covered up, making it hard to read the man.

'Shinobi's are WEIRD people…'

Time seemed to slowly tick by, the silence was aerie.

"Ummm. I'd like you guys to meet Sasuke. My fiancé."

"How…_nice_ to meet you."

Iruka smiled, but the look in his eyes made it look forced.

"Yo!"

'What kind of reaction is that?'

Sasuke disliked both of them already.

Iruka suddenly stood up and dragged Naruto to the kitchen. The blond looked back at Sasuke with an expression on his face that seemed to scream 'help me'.

"My first impression of you…I hate you."

Sasuke looked at the silver-haired man as he stood up.

'And what the HELL was that supposed to mean?'

"E-excuse me?"

Kakashi walked forward until he was standing right in front of Sasuke and whispered in his ear.

"You're giving Iruka-chan a headache, meaning no fun for me."

"Are you some kind of pervert."

"No more then you."

"I. Am. Not. A. Pervert. That wasn't what it looked like."

"Riiiiiiiiiight."

Kakashi sat back down in his seat, all the while Sasuke was attempting to burn a whole through the guys head.

Eventually, Naruto walked out of the kitchen, Iruka in tow. The two of them were carrying drinks and plates filled with the delicious smelling take-out food Iruka and Kakashi had brought. Sasuke's stomach growled in anticipation. He hadn't had a proper dinner in _quite_ some time.

The ramen was pretty nice – not that he would ever admit it – but it wasn't nearly filling enough. He suddenly regretted not taking those damned pills…perhaps that was the reason Naruto seemed so satisfied after eating the stuff.

"I really don't see why you brought more food though Iruka-sensei. Sasuke and I just finished our ramen."

"I brought 'more food' because I was afraid you would be having ramen.Your…friend looks famished."

'What? It was that obvious?'

"You should take better care of yourself Naruto, especially since there's two people living in this house now."

Of course Kakashi couldn't resist butting in.

"Yeah Naru-chan, no 'extra curricular activities' if you don't have the energy."

"Kakashi!"

"It's true. Weren't you the one complaining about being hungry every time we-"

"Kakashi!!!"

Naruto looked like a fish. Eyes as wide as saucers, mouth gaping. Not that Sasuke could blame him. These people were kind of like his parents. Not a single person would want to hear about their parents' 'bedroom playing time'. Well, not the normal ones anyway.

He silently suspected Kakashi was the type of guy to be 'peeking through the keyhole' so to speak…

'Damn pervert'

Sasuke's second dinner for the night – even though one measly cup of ramen counted more like a snack – went about as smooth as the ones back home. If not worse.

When the time came to say goodbye to his in-laws, Sasuke was exhausted. He couldn't wait to get to bed and get a good nights sleep.

Naruto tossed a pair of pyjama's in his general direction. But as soon as he started pulling of his clothes, he earned another earful of 'perverts', 'privacy' and the like.

"Dobe, we're getting married. And besides, it's not as if you have anything that I haven't seen before."

"Yeah, and I've seen parts of you I didn't care to see at all! Or do I need to remind you of earlier this evening?"

Sasuke flinched. That had to have been one of the most embarrassing moments in his entire life. He DEFENITELY didn't want to be reminded of it.

Unless Naruto became a willing participant of course…

Certain images of a naked Naruto suggestively draped over the couch they had previously been occupying crossed his mind.

"You're doing it again!"

"Doing what?"

Naruto pointed downwards.

'Oh….That.'

A certain appendage was acting up again. It surprised him Naruto wasn't making a scene at the moment, but rather then scream and throw random accusations in his general direction, he stared at it.

'But then again, I'm wearing underwear right now…'

Still, perhaps Naruto's 'curious' mood could be a good opportunity to perform a little…experiment.

Sasuke slowly walked forward, a lecherous grin on his face.

"What are you doing?"

Blushing, a good sign, right?

"S-stop! Don't come any closer!"

It was rather unfortunate that Uchiha hormones are as stubborn as their 'owners' and can't comprehend terms like 'stop' and 'don't'.

The brunet wrapped his arms around Naruto's and pulled him against his chest, effectively keeping him from escaping and starting yet another race around the apartment.

Which was a good thing, since as Sasuke had expected, Naruto started to struggle like a kitten again.

After a half-heartedly "Leggo…" Sasuke gazed into the gorgeous blue eyes that were staring at him intently. Would this be their…first time?

Naruto suddenly didn't seem nearly as unwilling as before, especially not when two pairs of lips finally met.

Quite the opposite, his little shinobi's arms found their way around Sasuke's neck as he practically melted in his – soon to be – lovers arms.

Sasuke carefully directed them towards the bed, all the while their lower bodies rubbing against one another to release some of the tension that was building up there.

No, Naruto was definitely not complaining now…

Sasuke pushed him down onto the bed, breaking their kiss and allowing them to breath in the much needed air.

Naruto's face was flushed, the blue eyes he loved so much clouded over with lust. The pert lips still wet from their previous actions. Said lips were parted slightly as his little shinobi panted slightly.

If he wasn't in love already, he probably would have fallen right now. He caressed Naruto's cheek lovingly, almost as if reassuring himself that the gorgeous young man underneath him was real. He gently traced the odd yet adorable scars.

Naruto placed his hands on Sasuke's chest and pushed him back a little and proceeded in slowly, almost agonizingly sliding of his shirt before laying back on the bed.

With the blonds hand laying beside the pillow, long graceful legs spread to allow him access to what Sasuke seemed to be craving the most right – even more so then breathing – and a gentle, tentative smile on those bruised, absolutely kissable lips, it was almost as if he were screaming 'molest me'.

The hand that had been previously caressing a smooth cheek, now stroked the slightly tanned chest before him, making sure to spend attention to delicious looking nubs that were hardening at every touch. Naruto was so sensitive and responsive…

The many tiny moans and pants eventually won over his patience as he slid down and grabbed the blonds pants, pulling them down along with his boxers, revealing all.

Naruto's legs were still shamelessly spread across the bed, rewarding Sasuke with a sight that would have probably killed him from blood loss, hadn't said blood been travelling downwards.

Sasuke indulged his desires by slowly rubbing Naruto's thighs, still not believing how soft his skin was. To tell the truth, he hadn't been expecting that.

Placing his hands in the hollow of the blonds knees, he pushed the smooth limbs upwards, holing them in that position as he slowly started to kiss and nibble Naruto's thighs, moving towards his little shinobi's 'not-so-little' erection.

He had absolutely no idea if what he was doing was any good, but judging from the look on Naruto's face, he must be doing _something_ right.

Those piercing blue eyes were looking down at him, watching his every move.

Sasuke smirked, his own onyx eyes never breaking contact with Naruto's.

'Little pervert. Not so innocent now huh…'

He then decided that if Naruto wanted a show, he would get one. Sasuke experimentally ran his tongue over the swollen head of Naruto's hard-on and lapped at the pearly drops of precum, earning him an absolutely delicious sounding moan.

The brunet felt a little more daring and wrapped his lips around the head of Naruto's cock.

More moans, louder this time and oh god how he loved those moans. All the while, Naruto was still looking at him, nearly closing his eyes as Sasuke started to take more of the weeping erection into his mouth.

Naruto's hands made their way into his raven locks. Sasuke could only hope the blond didn't get too exited as the hips belonging to the flushed body below him slowly started to rock forward. He had absolutely no experience with situations like these and didn't feel like gagging. Sasuke was actually amazed he hadn't done so already.

Naruto's fingers were clutching onto his hair tighter with every thrust and Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if some strands would be torn out altogether. In an attempt to save his precious hair, Sasuke pulled back, much to the dissatisfaction of the panting form beneath him.

"Why did you stop?!"

"You were ripping out my hair! That's why you absolute moron!"

Honestly, did he immediately have to start screeching like a harpy because of a little 'break'?

"Then you should have said something you jerk!"

"SAID something?! Your dick was in my mouth remember!"

"And it was having a good time too!"

"I can't believe you! And you keep calling me a pervert?!"

"You started it! You're just a bad influence!"

'Just a bad influence? You little-'

The mood was definitely gone now…

"Do you always need to have the last word!"

"No I don't!"

"Fine! You know what? I'm going to sleep, have fun taking care of that."

Sasuke grabbed the blanket and janked it hard, the sudden movement nearly caused Naruto to fall out of the bed.

"Watch it!"

Sasuke rolled around and settled underneath the covers, choosing to ignore Naruto.

"Why do you always have to be such a perverted jerk!"

Naruto _really_ wasn't helping improve things right now. on. Don't be mean."

The object of his affections apparently disliked being ignored. The previous anger had been forgotten by the idiot as he started to snuggle against him.

"Sasuke……please……?"

The brunet in question sighed. Why did the moron have an adorable whiny voice to go along with the hot body? Clearly someone up there must have hated him right now. It was impossible to stay angry with the idiot.

"Fine, come here."

He would be damned if Naruto was 'going to get any' right now, damning himself to self-induced celibacy for the night as well. But the snuggling was good too.

Perhaps they could take their 'playtime' to new heights tomorrow, but for now, having his arms around Naruto while the attention starved blond was holding onto him like a lifeline was definitely good enough.

* * *

Sasuke was nervous. Very nervous. 

Naruto was excited about giving him the grand tour of Konoha and was determined to show him everything.

Everything of course meant Ichiraku Ramen…

However this wasn't the reason why Sasuke was nervous. No not at all.

From the minute he stepped outside that awkward feeling of being watched returned in full force. Naruto didn't seem to notice anything though.

His lovable idiot was in a _very_ good mood, or at least it seemed like it. He seemed to have a perpetual silly grin plastered on his face and even though Sasuke wanted to believe it was _his_ doing, there seemed to be something 'off' about it.

It was probably nothing though. Just one more turn and they would be at the main road…

* * *

**??? POV**

"The target has almost reached the main road. He is accompanied by the 'Fox'. I repeat, codename 'Fox'."

This day would be a day Konoha would never forget. A day to be written down in history, printed in all the newspapers…

For this was the day the young man named Sai and the fangirl packs of Konoha joined forces in order to find out as much as they could about this 'Sasuke' as they possibly could.

Though their reasons may be different, they realised that it would be best to combine their powers.

After several attempts to get closer to their object of study – and failing miserably – a temporary alliance was formed.

Before the reluctant groups joined as one, chaos had struck Konoha.

The newly formed SasuNaru-fangirl branch had attempted to use their wall-climbing skills armed with mini-cams while the 'Sasuke-is-not-gay' branch used a similar tactic by climbing down from the roof. To say the two groups bumped into eachother would be an understatement.

Sai on the other hand still feared girls of _any_ sort after a long traumatised childhood of being stalked and practically molested at every turn.

The SaiNaru-fans were trying to get close enough to question him about his new rival.  
The Sai-fans were just trying to get close.

Another recently spawned branch – better known as the SasuNaruSai-group – were moving in from the other side, attempting to coax him into the room _with_ the two other boys.

Preferably the bed too.

So upon realising that the only thing they were accomplishing was getting in eachothers way, so the pact was sealed and Sai found himself sporting binoculars while posted on the rooftop of the local dango-shop.

Another 'project chicken-butt' member was doing the same on the rooftop across from him…and next to him…and behind him. Well, you get the picture.

"And god what a fox indeed! I mean take a look at that-"

"Sai!"

"Sai-chan, please, stay focused!"

"But I am focused!"

"On something besides Naruto!"

"Fine…"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa! Sai-chan is pouting! So cute!"

"Oh my god! Where?! Take a picture!"

"………now who's focussing on the wrong thing?"

A plain red-haired haired kunoichi placed her camera back into her pouch as her gray eyes blurred with unshead tears.

"Wait a second! I think they're holding hands!"

"They're what?!"

"Now they're kissing!"

"WHAT?!"

"Wrong couple you dumbass! Honestly Keiko, you call yourself a fangirl?"

"I'm sorry sempai! It must have been the sun! Really!"

Having ones fangilr-hood questioned was considered to be the ultimate insult.

The brownhaired girl was sniffling.

"Yeah! Why don't you go join the 'Sasuke-is-not-gay' group. That one's full of idiots!"

"Hey! We're not idiots!"

Sai rubbed his temples. Perhaps working together with these….weird creatures had not been such a good idea."

"……..Are we?"

Finally. He snapped.

"Could we just get back on subject?"

"Shut up! Who put you in charge!"

This caused both Sai and the groups that somehow contained his name – except the anti-sai one, since they were watching the group that was watching Sasuke, who in turn was watching Naruto – to look up at the source of the one that had dared to insult the stomach revealing bishounen.

"Sorry……?"

"How DARE you insult Sai!"

A fiery red-head stood up and made her way towards the girl on the rooftop next to her.

"Hey! Come on! I said I was sorry!"

As several other girls joined into the discussion, Sai slapped his forehead.

They weren't getting anywhere!

Well, they were getting themselves into yet another fangirl war if anything.

The previous one had been horrible…

An unknown girl once made the terrible mistake to wear the same outfit as the previous Sai-fangirl group leader. On fangirl-day of all days. Misgari – just like most of the Sai-fangirls – was known to be quite crazy…

In a fit of rage Misgari declared war on all the other groups just to make sure that the group of which the unknown female had been a member off was punished. Of course it wasn't until later that they found out the girl had simply been lost and enterred the room with the sole intention of asking for directions…

Upon Misgari's retirement, the fiery-redhead named Saiya took her place.

Now the general population of Konoha noticed little to nothing about this war.

As a matter of fact, the only thing that seemed out of place was the large ammount of short haircuts and rather ghastly vibrant haircolours that seemed to light up even in the dark.

Sai didn't know wether to thank Misgari or to curse her.

Those horrible colours managed to blind him on a bright sunny day more then once.

Yet again, they had been easier to spot during their 'stake-outs'.

"Wait a second! They're gone!"

"WHAT?!"

Sai looked around frantically. Indeed they were gone…

* * *

Naruto POV 

'What the hell are all those people doing on the rooftops?'

He had never for the life of him seen a pack of women this big before. And what the heck was Sai doing with them? He hated women! The jackass even had the guts to wave at him from behind those binoculars of his before getting caught up in some sort of conversation with the other 'rooftop-gang-members'.

He had to get out of here, and fast.

Not to mention beat on Sai, but that could wait untill later…

It wasn't even hard to get away, even though it should have been. Those women were _everywhere_! They were being watched from all angles.

Though at some point one of the females managed to get pretty much all of them caught up in a huge argument. Naruto still couldn't quite figure out as to what they were doing here in the first place. Perhaps fangirling over rooftops? One never knew what they'd think of next…

Sai meant trouble though.

A lot of it.

So against the wishes of his stomach, Naruto planned a trip to the academy first.

Ichiraku Ramen would have to wait…

'Damn it! Well, at least Iruka-sensei will be thrilled! Or at least I think he will.'

For some odd reason Iruka-sensei didn't seem to like Sasuke all that much. Which was rather strange considdering Iruka-sensei pretty much liked everyone.

As a matter of fact, the man seemed convinced that Sasuke was simply here to deprive Naruto of his innosence and other such 'evil' plots. He figured that his poor old sensei was just shocked about Sasuke looking so much like Sai.

Not to mention Kakashi's perverted escapades.

No wonder the man was paranoid!

Iruka-sensei was just going to have to live with it though. Unlike Sai, Sasuke was not a perverted-

'But then again…'

Last night managed to completely change his view of the dark-haired young man.

True, he had insulted him several times by claiming him to be a pervert – and last night proved it! – but he really didn't mind.

In fact it was rather nice to feel wanted like that. Last night they had almost…

It had been nice though and he found himself really not minding giving it another go…

Especially if there was more snuggling afterwards.

They'd be keeping the snuggling. Period.

"Well, our first stop is the academy!"

"The what?"

"The academy! This is where we train our ninja! Iruka-sensei works here."

"You went to school here?"

"Yup!"

Naruto rushed of to the swing located in front of the building.

The lone swing was tied to the tree and almost seemed out of place in the large empty playing ground.

"I used to play with this thing all the time when I was little! Give it a try!"

"I am NOT getting on that thing."

"Aww, come one, I'll even push!"

"No."

"You're no fun…"

Why did the guy always have to be such a stoic bastard?

It was almost as if the guy had never been a kid.

Now there was a scary thought…

An imagine of an alien race made up out of full-grown Sasukes who produced almost instantly… I mean an entire _planet_ full of those things…

Casting such subjects aside, he took a gander at Sasuke's forlorn face.

The pale young man needed to loosen up and Naruto would be the one to do it!

From this day on he would try to make Sasuke as happy as he could!

It was a personal mission and a promiss of a lifetime!

With newfound determenation Naruto grabbed his samurai's hand and pulled him towards the entrance. The halls were empty and quiet as the teachers droned on about several subjects.

Naruto wasn't interested – he had heard them all before after all – but Sasuke seemed fascinated.

The gorgeous black orbs seemed focussed on the thing around him.

Upon passing a class during shuriken throwing practise Sasuke was invited by the present teacher. After much coaxing from Naruto's end, the stubborn Uchiha swallowed his pride and threw his first shuriken…

As expected it didn't even hit the post, much to Sasuke's dispise.

It didn't take long for the kids to practically adopt Sasuke into their class – they were showing him all the things they had learned in class – and as the bell rung to warn them morning classes had ended, several of the children stuck around.

It was odd how a seemingly uncaring young man could get along with kids so well.

Naruto thought as he looked on with a smile on his face.

By the time the second bell rang, the kids said their goodbye and rushed off to their next class.

"What are you smiling about dobe?"

"You, teme."

For a minute there Naruto could have sworn he saw pink taint the Uchiha's pale cheaks.

There was no mistaking the slight smile on his face though…

For a minute the two young lovers looked at eachother until suddenly Sasuke's eyes focussed on something else…

The Uchiha-runaway walked towards a door, stood still in front of it and just looked at it. 

Having peaked Naruto's interest, he soon got up and walked towards the same door.

"Did the door insult you or something?"

A cold but deadly glare was his answer.

"Come on, ease up on the poor thing. I think it's trembling in fear."

Sasuke simply gave him an odd look.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Look for yourself dobe…"

"What?"

He looked at the door. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary…it was just that. A door.

Figuring he wasn't getting what Sasuke was hinting at, he looked at him expectantly.

"Look closer idiot."

He walked closer to the door while grumbling something about 'weird teme's and stupid doors'. He really didn't get it. What was so special about an unlocked janitors closet anyway?

'Oh shit…'

Before he could yell 'Sasuke' he had already been pushed inside, the door locked firmly behing them….

(AN: There is an actual lemon in this chapter! Checkt he adultfanfiction or SasuxNaru lj group for the fully unsensored version of this chapter!)

* * *

**  
??? POV**

'Kids and their imagination. Monsters in the closet, honestly.'

The teacher known as Muzuki-sensei opened the door.

"See? There's no such thing as-"

'Oh. My. God. Talk about monster in the closet!'

There he was. The one child that had single-handidly ruined the lives of the people of Konoha. The demon brat. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he was currently being nailed by some guy with hair like a chicken's behind.

"Have you NO shame?! Get dressed and get out of here!"

He slammed the door shut and turned his attention to the 'mortified' little girls.

Little did he know a whole new generation of fangirls was born that day…

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Yet another new chapter!  
I've received so many reviews for one newly added chapter, that it motivated me to write and post another as soon as possible. This chapter has actually been sitting around for a while now, but due to some rather unfortunate personal problems I found myself unable to upload.**

**And to the concerned reviewers out there, I don't plan on dropping this fic, updates are just slow but there will be updates nonetheless.**

**I would very much like to thank my reviewers, especially InuBecka!**

**Warnings: Violence, language.**

**Enjoy!**

**Previous chapter:**

"'_Kids and their imagination. Monsters in the closet, honestly.'_

_The teacher known as Muzuki-sensei opened the door._

"_See? There's no such thing as-"_

'_Oh. My. God. Talk about monster in the closet!'_

_There he was. The one child that had single-handidly ruined the lives of the people of Konoha. The demon brat. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he was currently being nailed by some guy with hair like a chicken's behind."_

Chapter 15

* * *

**Sasuke POV**

At least the people in this village would know his name now.

Or at least the parents would.

His own parents had always complained how hard it was to build up a name and keep up ones good reputation after all.

Somehow Sasuke managed to pull it off within a day.

Wouldn't they be proud…

The rumours were already spreading like wildfire, eventually leaving the safe surroundings of the academy and leaking out into the city and beyond.

Not that either Sasuke or Naruto knew about this, but they would find out soon enough…

No, Uchiha Sasuke was blissfully unaware while the two walked towards the training grounds where Sasuke had so innocently been trying his hand at shuriken throwing mere moments before. In his current good mood, he was listening to Naruto going on about his training days before he became a gennin.

To be honest, Sasuke wanted to see Naruto in action.

It was one thing watching kids throw around metal objects, but an actually graduated shinobi?

He had already seen Naruto perform some astounding moves.

Judging from the way people regarded his loudmouthed lover, most people apparantly deemed him a 'lousy ninja'. Not that Sasuke agreed. Even though Naruto wasn't exactle the sharpest of blades, the idiot was simply good at what he did.

During one of Naruto's rambling sessions Sasuke had managed to pick up that Naruto's main aspiration in life was to become a Hokage. For some reason Sasuke truly believed that Naruto could do it…

There was just something about him, a strange pull or some sort of energy surrounding him that managed to pull people in like a tractor-beam. Just one of those brilliant smiles could brighten the darkest of days.

And he was all his…

His to hold, his to love and make love to…

And with the advantage of marriage they would belong to one another completely.

"I challenge you Uchiwa Kaya!"

"….."

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Why don't you go play somewhere else…"

"Why won't you stop stalling and fight me already!"

Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Uchi_wa_?"

"Yeah, they're a big shot shinobi clan around here…"

There was no doubt as to who Kaya was. A young boy with pitch black hair stood in the middle of the nearby dojo, with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Geez, he looks almost as cheerful as you Sasuke!"

"Fight me already, damn it!"

"Yeah, and the other one is just as loud as you."

"Jerk."

This was the part Naruto hated most.

The young Uchiwa boy stepped out of the dojo that overlooked the centre training field and walked into their general direction. The boy was obviously not intending on wasting his time with the other academt student and was currently looking for a challenge 'worthy of his attention'. Not that there were many people they deemed worthy…

If it's one thing the Uchiwa clan was renowned for, it was their ability to view every living creature as a 'lesser being'.

Even though the Hyuuga clan had managed to surpass the Uchiwa clan in numbers ages ago, no other clan had ever managed to surpass them in ego.

To see such a stubborn family-trait in such a young boy – barely seven years old – was just plain scary. Kaya looked at Naruto and Sasuke and walked directly towards them.

It didn't take long until he was standing in front of them, most likely planning on leaving the academy training grounds in order to escape the rather annoying little boy who was left behind fuming.

Naruto – having already met the boy on several occasions – wasn't impressed by the pint-sized Uchiwa, but wisely remained quiet while readying himself to step aside if need be.

The boy clearly felt the need to walk in a straight line and walking around an object was below him…  
Sasuke on the other hand was getting rather annoyed at the look the boy gave him and refused to budge. He hated the kid already.

Yet another legendary event was to take place in Konoha. Two of the worlds most stubborn households were facing off in what seemed to be one of the most childish staring competitions ever seen.

The rude, bouncy brunet rushed after Kaya, clearly trying his hand at challenging the Uchiwa once more.

"So now you're running away from me? You scaredy cat!"

Kaya seemed more interested in glaring at Sasuke.

"Would you stop ignoring me already?!"

The brave young men stepped in between the two raven-haired males as if trying to break the tension between the two. Better yet, the boy grabbed Kaya's arm, who – unaware of the other boys actions – in result lost his balance and was the first to look away.

"Hn."

Indeed, the Uchiha victory cry was a fierce one…

"Let. Me. Go. NOW!"

"Not until you fight me!"

Kaya, now completely fed up with the other boys antics, kicked the mousy-brown haired preteen in the guts, causing the poor boy to double over in pain.

"Are you happy now?"

"That was quite a dirty move little brother…"

Beside him, Naruto froze.

As Sasuke turned around to gaze at the newcomer, he was quite surprised to look at a familiar face. The young man behind them resembled him enough to be considdered a possible twin.

The only main difference was the paleness of their skin, their hair-cut and their outfits.

Said outfit consisted out of a pair of plain looking yet dangerously low-riding black pants and an even more revealing shirt.

There was no doubt about it. After Naruto happily showed him his team-picture this morning and explaining which person was which, this HAD to be Sai.

Naruto immediately attached himself to Sasuke's arm as Sai walked towards them.

"Aniki! What are you doing here?"

Sai smiled at his little brother before turning to Sasuke.

"Good morning, you must be this 'Sasuke' I've been hearing so much about."

It was funny, after hearing the many warnings people had given him about this guy, he didn't seem nearly as bad as people had made him out to be.

True, Sai smiled a lot, to the point of it being creepy, but still…

"So you're the one determined to deflower out precious Naru-chan over here."

Alright, perhaps he really was as bad as people had made him out to be…

There was this malicious tone to the smiling young mans voice.

Not one to back down from a challenge however, Sasuke smirked.

"Actually, that's already been taken care off."

"Sasuke!"

Naruto – while blushing like a schoolgirl – tightened his hold on Sasuke's arm in warning.

Clearly their escapades in the janitor's closet were still fresh on his mind.

"Oh did you now."

The corners of Sai's mouth were twitching slightly.

"So Naru-chan, was he any good?"

'That little-'

"Enough with the perverted questions Sai!"

Naruto seemed to have recovered some of his usual spunk.

The death grip on his arm was still clearly present though…

"Aww, you know me, I'm just having a little fun. Don't be mad."

"You're_mad_ enough for the both of us."

"Naruto, stop being so mean to your teammate. He's just getting to know Sasuke after all."

Yet another lunatic decided to join the party. None other then the silverhaired man named Kakashi had appeared.

"What is this? A social gathering?!"

Kakashi ignored Naruto and turned to Sasuke.

"By the way Sasuke, it seems congratulations are in order! Next time, try to take it to go for some privacy though. I mean a janitor's closet? If you want, I could let you read some of my Icha-Icha novels. Clearly you need proper guidance on the matter."

Kakashi patted Sasuke's shoulder.

"Still, a good job! I might just like you after all!"

Naruto, tired of being ignored, finally let go of Sasuke's arm.

"Stop being perverted or I'll tell Iruka-sensei!"

"But I'm not doing anything."

"Like hell you are!"

Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Yeah yeah, now calm down. Sai, instead of bickering, why don't you and Kaya show Sasuke-kun here some moves? I hear you've been quite neglectful towards him lately."

Kaya looked like a hopeful little boy for once rather then an arrogant little brat.

"I'm afraid I don't have the time. Lately our clan has been in an uproar and being the eldest, the responsibility of helping my father falls onto me. Naruto, Yamato-sensei wants to meet up with us tomorrow, most likely another evaluation of our individual training, but be prepared in case it's a mission. Kaya, I'll be picking you up from school, make sure you're ready to leave when I get here."

With that being sad Sai took his leave.

The look on Kaya's face was heartbreaking.

The boy standing next to him – rubbing his still tender stomach – felt sorry for him.

His big sister was always prepared to make time for him no matter how busy she got.

Naruto took one look at the pouting little boy and melted before uttering the ill-fated words…

"Hey, how about you teach Sasuke a thing or two! It'll be good training for the both of you!"

* * *

Naruto POV 

"To the left! No! Your other left!"

"Wait a second, I think he's going to-"

"Look out!"

"Ouch…"

The so called match had been going on for quite some time now and neither side seemed to be showing signs of slowing down. Sasuke was clearly taking quite a lot of damage though. Naruto silently wondered what was currently hurting most, his body or his pride.

Upon discovering Sasuke's ability to quickly pick up skills, he and Kaya were now sparring using taijutsu only. Even though a bit clumsy at it from time to time, Sasuke was easily picking up the pace. His future husband was in one word 'brilliant'.

This all made Naruto grin, if Sai wasn't pissed off already, he most likely would be now.

True, Sasuke most likely wasn't going to win this fight, but the improvements he made and the rapid pace in which he absorbed all of this new information were truly unbelievable.

After a while Iruka joined the slowly gathering crowd and eventually even took it upon himself to teach Sasuke a thing or two about the use of chakra.

Kaya sat down beside Naruto and the little brown haired boy named Koji. After a while, Koji fell asleep in Kaya's lap. Kaya however was focussed on paying attention to the things Iruka-sensei was explaining, so after the first few nudges to the boys head and clearly not getting the desired result, he gave up and allowed the other boy to lay there.

Any kid in their age group was either talking about the new guy in town or the seemingly developing relationship of Koji and Kaya. After Iruka called it quits, Sasuke sat down beside the two boys, careful not to wake Koji in the process. Naruto looked at the little boy sitting next to him.

"By the way Kaya, what's this 'uproar' Sai was talking about?"

"You mean you haven't heard yet?"

"Heard what? I only got back yesterday. And since when is Sai the eldest anyway? Where are Kensuke and Ayumu?"

"…….they're dead."

"Wait a second, what?!"

"A man claiming to be one of our lost distant relatives showed up in Konoha shortly after you left. He learned of our clans secrets before turning on us. He murdered several of our clan members. Our older brothers were amongst the victims."

"A distant relative? Don't tell me he got away with it…"

"He did. Somehow he managed to get away without a trace."

"Well do they at least know his name or something?"

"He said his name was Itachi."

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it's me again. I must say that this is a relatively quick update for me. But as I've been inspired to write more as of late, I decided to finish up the next chapter a lot sooner. I also happened to write down the entire plot for this fic, including the ending.

Don't be alarmed though, it's not ending any day soon. Quite the opposite, after getting my ideas on paper and establishing a time-line I realised just how long this is going to be, what have I gotten myself into? 0.o

I'm probably going to end up re-re-writing the first few chapters though. I'm not at all pleased with them. Especially not since I now find my writing skills improving and them not being on par with the rest of the story. But that should take a while, I'm picky after all XP

Oh well, hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

_Previously:_

"_A man claiming to be one of our lost distant relatives showed up in Konoha shortly after you left. He learned of our clans secrets before turning on us. He murdered several of our clan members. Our older brothers were amongst the victims."_

"_A distant relative? Don't tell me he got away with it…"_

"_He did. Somehow he managed to get away without a trace."_

"_Well do they at least know his name or something?"_

"_He said his name was Itachi."_

* * *

_Naruto POV_

Ever had that feeling in your gut? You know, the one screaming at you something horrible is about to happen that could quite possibly change your entire life. That chilling feeling, that kind of unease that makes you feel as if you're falling while in fact you've been unable to move as if frozen to the very ground.

Naruto was currently experiencing a similar sensation.

The last time he had felt like this, Konoha's beloved Sandaime Hokage died. It had been a horrible fight between him and some S-class missing nin. It had happened during the previous Chuunin-exam. An as of yet still unidentified hidden village very damn well nearly started a full-out shinobi war. It the end they had proven far too weak to actually back up their threats and said shinobis met their match while fighting some of Konoha's finest.

Naruto had been a pretty young boy at the time, just barely a Genin to be exact. Regardless he and his team-mates had been entered into that exam by their sensei, Yamato-sensei had truly believed they would make it. He remembered his match with the almost unbeatable Hyuuga Neji.

'Almost, since I kicked his ass pretty good during that match!'

While Naruto and his team had been taken to Hidden Grass for their exam – far away from Konoha – the foreign shinobis made their move, fuelled by the firm belief that Konoha would be at it's weakest with some of it's strongest shinobis outside of the Fire-country looking after their young pupils. Their arrogance was countered with experience, as if Sandaime would ever be so stupid as to leave Konoha completely unguarded. The unidentified shinobis didn't seem all that hard to beat until a former Konohan-nin joined the fight. It turned out he had even arranged for his student Tsunade to take over should anything happen to him.

Having been stationed abroad along side of his team-mates and fellow Genin, Naruto never really did know who this Nukenin was – that and he never did really feel like remembering minor details, an opponent was an opponent, names were unnecessary – but he did know that the man had once been a student of Sandaime. Naruto for one never really understood how anyone could be heartless enough to kill their very own sensei. Just the mere thought of hurting Iruka-sensei…

"Excuse me but what was that name?"

Naruto turned to Kaya hoping that the boy caught his look of desperation. But alas, fate had never really been kind to him.

"The man said his name was Itachi. Why?"

It was as if something inside Sasuke snapped. Even though Naruto understood Sasuke and his brother never really got along, he never did really hear the full story. Not that he cared to really. Mere moments ago Sasuke's family had been nothing but a bad memory after all – save for his mother who had actually been very nice until Itachi showed up that is.

'Wait a second…'

"Don't worry Sasuke, it's probably not what you're thinking. I mean he was there with us in your village, wasn't he? There's no way he could have made it back that fast. Not even a shinobi can do that!"

He was lying. It had taken Naruto just a short while after all when he had travelled alone. He was pretty sure Sasuke knew that he was lying too, he only hoped to keep his raven-haired lover calm enough until he managed to figure out how to handle the situation. No one seemed to think much of his previous statement.

Why in the world would Sasuke's older brother hurt Kaya's family? Or even be in Konoha for that matter. There were tons of Itachi's! There had to be!

For some reason the thought didn't manage to reassure him in the slightest…

"At first this guy was pretty nice and polite. He started to get a bit arrogant after learning how to use sharingan though…"

Somehow Naruto wasn't surprised to hear about the 'arrogant' bit.

"He and my oldest brother got pretty close I guess. So after a while Kensuke took him down to see our family temple, this Itachi guy started to behave really cold and unresponsive after that. Ayumu hadn't been too happy about the whole trip to say the least. Two days later both my brothers and several other clan members were dead."

No wonder Sai had seemed so on edge. Even though the two of them had never really been close, he still couldn't help but care about his team-mate. Sai seemed to like the idea of the two of them ending up together as something more then 'mere' team-mates. Naruto on the other hand couldn't see that happening. Having grown up without a family his team-mates had slowly been filling up the empty space a family should have occupied in his life. In the end they saved him from the loneliness that he had been forced to endure for the most part of his life.

Sai was kind of like a brother to him. Although a deranged and perverted one…

Sasame, always the reliable and responsible older sister. She made sure that the boys and even their sensei sometimes were kept in line. Speaking of their sensei, Naruto couldn't wait to see him. Regardless of how creepy the guy could be.

Their dysfunctional little family was supposed to meet first thing in the morning and report how their individual missions had been.

Wouldn't Yamato-sensei be surprised to hear about 'recent developments'.

Sasuke had agreed earlier on to accompany him to the team meeting and be properly introduced to team nine. It were supposed to be a happy occasion and the blond had been giddy for the main part of the morning (even though the little tumble with Sasuke earlier on probably had something to do with that), but the mere mentioning of the name 'Itachi' made his hair stand on end. Even more so then Yamato-sensei's "ruling by the use of terror" approach. Naruto turned to Kaya.

"Just 'Itachi'? Or did the guy have a last name to go with that."

Just as Kaya was about to answer, Koji decided to rejoin the land of the living.

"I was NOT asleep!"

Had the current situation been different, Naruto would have laughed at the scene.

"You idiot. Not only were you asleep, you were drooling in my lap."

The mortified expression on Koji's face was priceless to say the least. The boy truly was Kiba's little brother. No doubt about it.

Kiba.

Now those were some memories. Even though they had never really seen themselves as friends before, they used to hang out a lot together back at the academy. Generally 'hanging out' meant skipping classes and trying not to get caught by the academy teachers. Somehow Iruka always managed to find them though. Them meaning Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru and Naruto of course.

Chouji was a rather unappreciated boy within his age group. He was often teased about his weight. What should have interested the people more then the size of his body, should have been the size of his heart. Or at least that's what Shikamaru used to say, if the boy ever found the energy to do so that is.

Shikamaru was in one word 'lazy'. He would rather spend his entire afternoon dozing off in the shade or looking at the clouds. He was often assisted in this 'tiresome' task by Chouji. It was a shame really, because Naruto knew Shikamaru had a lot of potential. Not only was he exceptionally bright, his bloodline allowed the use of many cool jutsu's involving shadows. Together with Kiba and Naruto himself, this ragtag pack had pretty much always been up to no good. Naruto remembered Kiba saying something about a younger brother once. Something about him soon being old enough to get a pup of his own.

Somehow the idea of another Akamaru running around didn't bother him as much as it should. Akamaru had always had it in for him for some reason. It probably had something to do with the strange rivalry between Kiba and Naruto. Kiba had always liked being the centre of attention. Somehow he didn't feel like sharing this attention with a loud blond orange wearing punk. If he had to throw away one more perfectly fine pair of pants due to the mutt peeing on them however, he'd skin the damn dog and wear _it_ as pants.

The two boys continued to bicker, much like he and Sai had when they were little. During those times, Sai was either busy arguing with Naruto or running away from a flock of girls. Two of Konoha's most promising young Kunoichi's – Ino and Sakura – were always hot on his heels. Naruto even vaguely remembered having a crush on Sakura, which didn't last long though. Even back then Sai had managed to rub him the wrong way. Brilliant little Sai – the Uchiwa prodigy. Even though the boy had been shunned by his family at first due to his inability to activate his sharingan, he had soon proven himself to be quite an asset. Rather then activating a flashy doujutsu, he had the capability to copy anything he saw onto paper. All the perks of an Uchiwa, but never their downsides. He was suddenly accepted into the clan with open arms after that little discovery. A part of him had actually liked Sai before that time, because before that Sai had been an outcast like him. Better yet, he had wanted to be just like him. He had been hard-working and proud, never allowing anyone to see the fierce emotions building up beneath that porcelain surface. Afterwards he grew arrogant.

Out of nowhere he started spouting crap about romantic aspirations towards Naruto. He understood really – the two of them had been in a similar position throughout a large part of their life after all and now that he managed to put himself in people's good graces, he wanted to do the same for Naruto – but regardless he refused to give in to Sai's demands. He had seen what all that ass-kissing had done to Sai and he refused to follow in his footsteps this time…

Funny how Sasuke's stand-offish attitude reminded him a lot of what Sai had been like back in those days. Perhaps the small part of him that had once admired Sai had simply reawakened upon his meeting with Sasuke…

He had been both thrilled and disappointed about being on the same three man cell as him. It gave him a nice chance to show Sai that he could make people respect him through hard work. To show Sai that he'd been wrong to just allow people to kiss his ass because of his family's reputation rather then his own. Yet at the same time he disliked the idea of having to spend so much time around someone whose sole purpose it was to either annoy you, fight with you or molest you. Knowing Sai, all of it out of sheer dislike of being turned down by another who had once been very much like himself.

Sasame had been a nice addition to the team though. Naruto, never having been popular with those around his own age – or anyone else in Konoha that is – feared the mere thought that she would be as bigoted as everyone else. He was pleasantly wrong though. Though a bit violent and rough on the outside, the girl had a heart of gold.

It was safe to say his academy days hadn't been boring, neither were the years after his graduation.

Not that he could say his present-day life was boring. Quite the opposite. The arrival of one Uchiha Sasuke managed to spice things up alright. Said young man looked troubled…

They were probably in for a long talk as soon as they left. Honestly, they had only intended to stick around here for a limited amount of time. He had truly meant to show Sasuke around the entire – or at least a large part of Konoha. So far they'd been stuck here and things seemed to be turning for the worst. The academy always seemed to function as the beginning of something…

Naruto stood up and brushed off his pants. As was expected of the loudmouth ninja, he made a scene by stretching in a rude non-caring way and let out a rude loud yawn.

"Well, I say Sasuke and me have been here long enough as it is. There's a lot more sights to see! Would you guys believe he hasn't even seen the Hokage faces up close yet? Later Iruka-sensei!"

With that having been said, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and proceeded in dragging him out of the academy in true 'Uzumaki-Naruto-style'. Sasuke truly didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he'd caught on. That they needed to have a serious talk that is…

* * *

Sasuke POV

Once again his brother had single-handedly ruined everything.

When first arriving here a Shinobi village had seemed like the last place where Itachi would have set foot. Or at least not without a purpose in mind.

"Don't worry Sasuke, it's probably not what you're thinking. I mean he was there with us in your village, wasn't he? There's no way he could have made it back that fast. Not even a shinobi can do that!"

'Don't worry…'

Easier said then done. Even though Naruto did have a point, about Itachi not being fast enough to head over to the Uchiha mansion after such an atrocity mere days ago. It had taken a lot longer when he and Naruto had made said trip towards Konoha.

There was something suspicious about the way Naruto was acting though. Sasuke was no fool, he had seen Naruto move before. On that very night of the festival back at the village when he single-handedly managed to capture that shinobi. Had Naruto been travelling alone he would have made it back much sooner, he had been a burden.

With Naruto's sudden urge to leave made apparent to his environment, Sasuke didn't hesitate to go along with the shinobi's hasty exit. Apparently Naruto wasn't much of a fool either, even though others might think differently. Naruto seemed a lot better at 'hiding' then that Sai character though. As a matter of fact, all shinobi he had met so far seemed to be strangely reclusive towards those around them. Iruka – a sweet and caring mother hen – turned into quite the warrior. The deadly precision with which the gentle teacher threw those weapons was astounding. Then there was Kakashi – a pervert extraordinaire – no matter how strange his appearance, the man was still a highly respected Jounin. That's right, Iruka had explained the shinobi 'class-system' to him earlier on. Shinobi society was unlike anything his fellow samurai had ever imagined, just the fact alone that the shinobis had to earn their titles through training and exams set them apart from samurai.

True, exams were quite different from actual battles and regardless of their young ninja being sent out to do missions across the entire country, an actual battle was a much needed experience to any young warrior. Rather then lurk in the shadows with 'the mission' as primary goal, samurai focused on honour and victory. Those who lost never got a second chance, unlike these strange creatures of the night who simply withdrew and tried again with larger numbers.

A disgrace, his father would have called it. And yes, throughout the traditions and mannerism he had been spoon-fed ever since he was born he somewhat agreed. Yet at the same time he had always wondered what the use of it all was. Why take your own life? Why rob yourself of the chance to get stronger and try again? Mere days ago he would have never allowed himself to dwell upon such subjects. But then again, mere days ago he had resided under the watchful eyes of his father, now he was free to do as he wished and free to think as he wished. And funnily enough? He didn't know what to do with this newfound freedom. He was acting strangely out of character as of late, he was making irrational decisions based on emotions he never imagined he would end up experiencing – well, not again at least.

He had disgraced his family, abandoned his home while paying little to no thought of the consequences his actions might bring. But he really hadn't cared, he had been happy. He truly didn't care that he was acting unlike his usual self, he loved. But as always, his past couldn't remain buried. Itachi once again managed to find a way to ruin his life. He had soiled the Uchiha name before he had even set foot inside this village, Sasuke's reputation would be forever marked as 'his little brother', even in a village that before this day had never even known him.

"Sasuke?"

"What…?"

"You really shouldn't be worried, you know. You're not your brother after all."

"What does that have anything to do with it Naruto?! No matter what I do, no matter where I go, he's there. He's just _there_!"

"But you haven't done anything!"

"And how long do you intend to keep it hidden? That he's my brother?!"

"I don't. I plan on speaking to Tsunade right now and fess up. Like I should have done from the start."

The idiot was going straight to the damn Hokage? Was he trying to get him killed?!

"Come on. She'll understand. Knowing her she probably suspects something anyways."

Sasuke suddenly realised that Naruto had been holding his wrist this entire time. He hadn't let go, not even once. Sasuke stared at the slightly calloused hand, Naruto gave his wrist a tiny squeeze. A gesture of affection.

'Trust me.' His blue eyes seemed to scream.

And he did.

'WAY too much out of character, what are you getting yourself into Uchiha?'

* * *

Tsunade POV

It had been about time. The damn brat and his pretty little 'boyfriend' had been keeping the truth from the beginning. Did the brat really think she was _that_ stupid?

She wasn't selected as a Hokage for nothing after all. Just the way that boy moved betrayed his true nature. The boy was no mere civilian. The graceful way with which this mysterious young man moved had most likely been instilled through rigorous training, those cold calculating eyes taught to detect even the slightest of movements, those were marks of a warrior.

He was most definitely not a shinobi though. The slight trails of callous on the boy's pale skin didn't match the typical trails one gained from handling delicate objects such as kunai or senbon. It didn't take an expert to see this 'Sasuke-character' was used to holding a sword of some kind. Adding the fact that Naruto hadn't come clean about the boy's true nature, it meant that he was hiding something. The boy either had to be some kind of outlaw or a samurai.

Konoha-gakure had learned it's lesson not too ling ago, about not allowing strangers amongst them. An adolescent male by the name of Uchiha Itachi had come knocking. The old Uchiwa legends spoke of a large portion of their family going their own way at a certain time in history. A legend since until the day Itachi 'graced' Konoha with his presence, this 'great divide' had never been proven. All it had taken was to compare his blood-sample to one of the Uchiwa clan. The head of said clan had been so proud to have lived long enough to see the day these two long-lost households reunited. Even though in all her life she had never seen the Uchiwa clan reach out to assist another, it had made perfect sense. Those that were part of that clan stayed part of that clan no matter what, it didn't entitle them to treat the 'odd ones out' like trash though. Poor little Sai, what a case he had been before that little genetic discovery.

Any normal man would have faced severe opposition when allowed into such a tight-packed unit, but young Itachi wormed his way into the clans good graces and earned their respect at a record pace. What fools they had been…

Even though the signs had been there – the mysterious yet frequent disappearances of said long lost clan member, his somewhat anti-social behaviour of towards anyone not belonging to the Uchiwa clan, his eagerness to learn, the increasingly arrogant and stubborn attitude – the head of the Uchiwa clan would not listen. There was no way he would have ever turned down a 'fellow son of Madara' after all. The old man had likened Itachi's strange behaviour to that of any other Uchiwa. He had mistaken this young man's true motive with pride…and it had cost him his life. Not just his life, but the lives of several clan members as well. Now the old man's son was in charge.

As if dealing with the new clan-leader Danzou wasn't bad enough, now Naruto showed up with a boy who resembled Itachi so much that it could even make the world's biggest idiot question the notion the two could possibly be related. Itachi and Sasuke both sported that ingrained manner of speech, the same grace with which they moved…

What was Naruto getting himself into?

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun and his companion are here to see you."

"Thank you Shizune, let them in."

One thing was certain though. If the black-haired bastard even as much harmed a hair on her little idiots head, she'd kill him and spit on his beaten carcass for good measure.

TBC


End file.
